O’Connor: keeping rules will lead to ‘uprising’
O’Connor has become the latest high-profile critic of the new yellow-card system, after Tyrone manager Mickey Harte and Monaghan’s Seamus McEnaney both came out strongly against the system in recent weeks.
O’Connor believes the rules have escaped controversy during the league but they will generate uproar if similar situations arise this summer.
“It’s not a big deal if a fella gets sent off in the league, but if you get a fella sent off in championship for innocuous situations, then you’re going to have pandemonium.
“We had three backs sent off above in Omagh and the only reason there was nothing about it, is because we won the game. But if you’ve three backs sent off in championship for misdemeanours, there’d be an uprising.
“In our match on Sunday I thought the Westmeath man was awful unlucky there after half-time.
“All he was doing was jumping up for a throw-in and he caught his man on the way down. If you’d a man sent off for that in championship there’d be pandemonium. In general I don’t think they’re going to get the green light.”
O’Connor expressed sympathy for referees trying to enforce the rules and believes a common sense attitude to officiating is the way forward.
“In general I’m not in favour of the rules, because it’s putting ferocious pressure on the referees. It’s tying the referee’s hands behind their back. The best referees in the country are the ones that use a bit of common sense like Pat McEnaney and David Coldrick and those fellas. They’ve always refereed through common sense.
“The bottom line is their hands are tied with these rules. They’re basically told to send a fella off whether it’s intentional or not.”
O’Connor also rubbished suggestions that the rules favour his Kerry side’s style of play.
“I don’t believe they favour us. We’re trying to get our men tackling like everyone else. For example take Micheál Quirke above in Derry. That man was making his seasonal debut and he was sent off after 20 minutes. That’s the game ruined for him.
“The referee realised the following day it was a mistake and he rescinded it. I mean what good is that to the player. If that happens in championship, it isn’t much good to be telling the fella the next day that he made a mistake.
“There’ll be pandemonium if those situations arose in championship.”
