Unfazed Tyrone boss Harte evades Ulster’s venue debate

MICKEY HARTE is staying well clear of the debate on the venue for Tyrone’s Ulster football semi-final against Derry on Sunday fortnight, saying yesterday that he was “not unduly concerned” where the game will be played.

A decision is due to be made tomorrow and while Donegal are pushing too have it played in Ballybofey after spending €1.6 million in redeveloping McCumhaill Park, the speculation is that Casement Park, Belfast, will be the venue.

Pointing out that he had expressed a preference (Croke Park) for the first round against Armagh, he said: “I am not going to get involved in this matter. Wherever they take us, we will go!”

The referee for the game won’t be decided until the next meeting of the Central Referees Appointments Committee (comprising Referees Chairman Michael Curley, Fr Seamus Gardiner and CCCC chairman Seamus Woods), but the probability is the chosen man will be one of the senior officials, more than likely Pat McEnaney.

In the meantime, Cork-based Diarmuid Kirwan has been named as referee for the June 14 Munster hurling semi-final between Limerick and Waterford. Cormac Reilly (Meath) will have charge of the Wexford/Kildare Leinster football quarter-final, with Joe McQuillan (Cavan) will handle the Westmeath/Wicklow game, which is also a quarter-final tie.

Meanwhile, as the championship gains momentum, referees are being put on notice that upcoming appointments will be performance-related. It means their suitability for appointment to the bigger games once the provincial competitions near their concluding stages will be assessed on the basis of how efficiently they handle games.

In the meantime, referees have all been circularised with a document from Croke Park making it clear what is expected of them and specifically drawing attention to instructions conveyed by the refereeing leadership at two recent seminars.

The first one of these, held prior to the start of the championship season, involved the ‘top’ referees and those at the next level were brought together a fortnight ago. According as the championships move on through the different stages, meetings will be held on a regular basis, where performances will be analysed and mistakes highlighted.

The message they want to get across, says match coordinator Pierce Freaney, is that “strict application” of the rules is required from all referees.

“That was the message which came across while the experimental rules were being discussed,’’ he commented. “People were saying that the rules were ‘fine’ if they were implemented and that’s what we are saying. We’re trying to get that through to them (referees) that the public want the rules implemented and so do the managers and the administrators.

“That’s the challenge facing us now. We couldn’t have got a clearer message from the public or the interested parties.’’

Freaney, a former Kilkenny hurler who won a Cork championship medal with St Finbarr’s, explained that the circular doesn’t deal with specific fouls. “The full package is covered, from picking the ball off the ground, to throwing it, to ‘hitting’ — everything.’’

The referee needs to deal with things from the first minute, he stressed. Otherwise it can prove to be too late.

“Nobody deserves a chance any more. That day is gone,” says Freaney.. “You need to deal with it and that’s it.’’

Accordingly, the approach being adopted by the new Referees Committee is that all appointments from here on in will be merit-based. “Referees will be judged on how they perform in games. That’s how they will be reappointed for other matches, for the big matches coming up,’’ he added.

Meanwhile Harte is reporting a clean bill of health after Sunday’s opening defence of their All-Ireland title in Clones, stating yesterday: “Things are looking good.”

The Tyrone boss was particularly pleased that team captain Brian Dooher (held in reserve until early in the second half) came through unscathed and that Stephen O’Neill was also able to prove his fitness. “Brian has even worked since the game and trained hard, so that’s great news,” he commented.

“As regards Stephen, he gets a bit of pain in his knee after games but it’s not as bad as it used to be.”

He also pointed out that there was no problem with Justin McMahon’s state of fitness, explaining that the decision to withdraw him near the end of Sunday’s game was part-tactical and partly to give him a rest. “When a player is coming back after being away for a period they can overdo it a wee bit, but he is fine,’’ he stated.

The squad trained on Tuesday night, while a small number of players had an extra (voluntary) session the night before.