New rules back in spotlight

REFEREES chief Mick Curley has admitted the new rule change in relation to incidents dealt with by the match officials is open to inconsistencies.

After Kieran Donaghy escaped with only a yellow card from referee David Coldrick after kicking out at Noel O’Leary in Sunday’s Munster SFC final, the rule has come further under the spotlight.

The change, which came into force at the start of the championship after being carried in an amended Longford motion at April’s Congress, dictates that any foul play dealt with by the referee is no longer open to retrospective scrutiny from the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC).

Therefore, Donaghy has no case to answer for his reaction to O’Leary’s attempts to hold him back. While pointing out the referees don’t have a problem with the new rule, national referees committee chairman Curley acknowledged the change makes it possible for some players to commit serious foul play without any serious repercussion.

“Solely from a referees’ point of view, we don’t have an issue with it,” he said. “A decision made by the referee can’t be revisited as long as he’s been seen to deal with it. It doesn’t come back to the referee.

“From a disciplinary point of view, it can lead to inconsistencies. Some players might be able to get away with something, some may not. There’s a difficulty there.”

The Donaghy-O’Leary incident followed Rory Hickey’s decision the previous Sunday to brandish Mayo’s Keith Higgins with a yellow card after video footage showed him striking Galway’s Mark Hehir.

Also on Sunday, Kilkenny’s Jackie Tyrrell was fortunate to be handed a yellow card by Barry Kelly for a frontal charge on Dublin substitute Maurice O’Brien, which might have also merited consideration from the CCCC were it not for the new rule.

All three fouls were more serious than the one committed by Meath’s Brian Farrell in last month’s Leinster quarter-final against Kildare.

Farrell was shown a red card for making contact with Emmett Bolton and unsuccessfully contested the decision with the Central Appeals Committee (CAC).

Croke Park had feared the amended motion would come back to haunt them. After Congress’s decision to back it, GAA Director General Páraic Duffy warned: “There is a danger that a referee might give a yellow where he should have given a red.”

Curley added The Sunday Game analyst Kevin McStay was incorrect to suggest Coldrick may be asked to review his decision to hand Donaghy a yellow card. Commenting on the incident, McStay said: “We can only assume that he’s not adjudicating on a stamping because if he was it was a straight red card. But what’s the yellow going to be for? Rough play.

“If that’s true when the [Coldrick’s] report comes out on Monday and Tuesday that means he didn’t adjudicate on the incident, he didn’t see the incident and that changes the role the CCCC can have on it because they can now ask him to clarify it.”

However Curley made clear: “I understood what he said but he wasn’t right. It could be interpreted that the referee didn’t see it but made a decision, which was incorrect.

“However, once a referee deals with that situation, that’s it. It can’t be revisited. Had he been unsure about it and did nothing, then the CCCC could so something about it. But he took action.”

Meanwhile, Curley explained it is purely up to the referee to decide how much added time should be allocated.

In Killarney on Sunday, Coldrick played six minutes of injury-time in the second half, which even at that seemed insufficient given the multitude of stoppages and substitutions after half-time.

But Curley pointed out there are no guidelines given to referees about just how much time should be awarded for breaks in play such as substitutions.

“It is purely at the referee’s discretion. Unlike soccer where there is roughly 30 seconds per substitution, that doesn’t apply to Gaelic games. A referee has to take into account injuries and deliberate hold-ups as well.”

Curley also claimed the new intranet website for inter-county referees has been a success. On it are full educational facilities for referees about rules and video clips highlighting errors made as well as disputed decisions.

“The referees themselves have access and it’s a good and quick form of communication. They only have access to it and they can view it from wherever they wish.

“It won’t take the place of seminars or anything like that. The need for open discussion like that is huge but the website is being used and will be used more in the future.”

Curley says there are no plans to make the website available to the public but believes providing more practical online information about the rules of the game is worthwhile.

“It could be done and it should be done. It would be beneficial for everybody if they were made aware of examples of what constitutes a foul under the rules of our games and what doesn’t.”