Referees need protection

Health and safety is a buzz phrase in the GAA at the minute with pitch invasions and the capacity of stadiums being reduced to meet standards but events in Newbridge on Saturday night point to an urgent need to look at what should be done in that respect for referees.

A number of Kildare supporters had different interpretations to what Joe McQuillan decided in making calls during the qualifier game with Tyrone.

Overall, I thought he had a very impressive game and he got the main decision right: the Tyrone penalty when Emmet Bolton footblocked Mark Donnelly and sending off Peter Kelly for persistent fouling after a fifth instance in the 63rd minute.

I sat in the middle of a group of Kildare and Tyrone supporters in the St Conleth’s Park stand on Saturday and neither party had any issue with each other or the referee. They shook hands afterwards and that was that.

However, there was a little bit of booing for McQuillan at half-time and then at the end of the match a group of gardaí, stadium security officials and stewards surrounded the referee as he made his way to his changing room under the stand.

People were wanting to get home at that stage and the presence around him brought attention to the referee. I know of one situation before when the referee waited for the stand to empty before leaving the pitch.

Had Joe’s changing room been situated where the teams’ ones were, in the corner of the grounds which down not require officials to mix with the supporters, there wouldn’t have been any issue.

Certainly, it wasn’t a good image for the referee and his assistants being jostled by supporters but it can happen in venues like Newbridge, as it could in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Portlaoise and Parnell Park, to name but another three as referees are asked to walk among the crowd. I know this is a time when county boards have bigger financial commitments but it’s common sense for referees to be facilitated with appropriately located changing rooms where they don’t have to go through fans.

Like McQuillan, David Coldrick had a fine afternoon in Clones and got good assistance from linesman Cormac Reilly on Donegal’s attempt at a point in the 21st minute, which looked on TV to have gone over the upright and wide. David wasn’t giving any soft frees and both teams accepted that and the game didn’t suffer as a result.

In the Connacht final, London could have questions over a goal and a penalty for Mayo as well as what should have been a goal for London in the 17th minute.

Eoin O’Neill played the ball out of Rob Hennelly’s hands fairly but a free out was awarded when O’Neill’s momentum knocked over Mayo’s keeper.