Top referees divided on issue of retaining experimental rules

IRELAND’S top GAA referees, Diarmuid Kirwan and Marty Duffy, were split yesterday on the issue of the current experimental rules and whether they should be retained for the championships.

Saturday week’s Annual Congress meeting in Down will ultimately decide what, if any, of the rules are kept permanently.

Unsurprisingly, both hold strong views on the rules as they’re the ones who have been implementing them since the Allianz leagues began.

The experiment with ending the square ball rule is one of the few new laws on trial in both codes. Last year’s All-Ireland hurling final whistler Kirwan argues that a return to the traditional square ball rule is necessary, claiming that the current experiment causes more problems than it solves. He opined that this is the commonly-held opinion among hurling refs.

Duffy, who took charge of the 2009 football final, claimed, however, all of the experimental rules in football including the square ball trial should be kept.

And in a clear sign, if any was needed, that football and hurling are two completely distinct codes, Duffy said that football “referees in general would like to see them (all) kept”.

Congress delegates will at least be able to vote individually on the rules so if they favour one and not another, they can vote accordingly.

“The big change that came into hurling is the forward being allowed into the square before the ball arrived,” said Kirwan of the experimental square ball rule.

“They reckoned it was going to be a help to referees and umpires but unfortunately not. “It’s gone to the stage now that you’re just trying to judge is the player going for the ball? Was he going for the goalkeeper? Was he in there, was he out there? How many were in on top of the goalkeeper?

“It’s just impossible to judge so we reckon that it should stay as it was, that if the player is inside in the square it’s a free out.”

Kirwan is equally unsure about the time-keeping experiment, also applied in both codes, which sees play continue after injury-time until the ball goes out of play.

He said there was merit in the experiment but admitted: “It looked a bit strange to see a hurler rifle the ball aimlessly out of play in last weekend’s Cork versus Tipperary game which ended the contest.

“It does need tweaking, definitely,” continued Kirwan. “It should either be after a wide ball or a score (that play ends) because it looks strange for a player to just get the ball and drive it out over the sideline. It doesn’t look right.”

Duffy was more accepting of the overall changes and said he personally is fully behind all the rules being retained.

If that wish is granted it would mean the ‘mark’ rule would be written into the GAA’s official guide as a permanent feature of the game.

Many have argued that if the mark is to be successful then the player, not the referee, needs to be the one that ‘calls the mark’ in midfield after a high catch.

“Originally, I was disappointed that it wasn’t left to the player to decide,” said Duffy.

“But it has worked very well and where there’s clear advantage most referees have got the hang of it and are letting guys go. I don’t think there’s been too many complaints in the last few rounds of the league.

“Sometimes you’d be giving the advantage and you’d be shouting to the player, ‘Play on, play on’ and you might forget to make that signal for the people in the crowd but no, overall, you’d always try to communicate with the players and it’s worked well.”

Kirwan highlighted a separate matchday issue which isn’t part of the experimental rules but, he feels, needs urgent rethink.

He said the directive that players can only take on water by approaching the sideline – instead of receiving it from a water carrier – needs a rethink.

Monaghan manager Seamus McEnaney predicted that in warm summer weather it will lead to dehydration and exhaustion among players who won’t have time to run to the sideline for water.

“Players going out to the sideline in the national league in March and April, when it’s cold and wet, is fine,” said Kirwan.

“But in the heat of Championship – I don’t see any problem with water carriers coming onto the field as long as they do it in a break in play. As it is, you see them throwing these big bottles of water into the field and then they’re being thrown back out – it could actually lead to an accident.”

Kirwan and Duffy were speak where they were confirmed as Vodafone Referees of the Year 2009 in their respective codes.