Deegan says ref chat helps clear the air on tackling

Clare selector Mike Deegan has revealed the management attempt to speak to referees prior to throw-ins to ascertain what they look out for in matches.

Illustrating what they view as the inconsistency in hurling officiating, Deegan said they seek to hear their interpretations on tackling.

Speaking about referees at Clare’s All-Ireland final press event in Ennis yesterday, he said: “I’d probably think they are under too much pressure.

“They are making decisions based on how they are judged and I think they should just be allowed to go out. I think there are different referees and unfortunately it’s not consistent at the moment.

“That’s probably down to the fact players are being given instructions or because something happens, ‘Make sure and keep an eye on this’.

“We try to have a chat with the referee beforehand and ask him what he wants. Some referees will talk to you and will say ‘I won’t allow this’ or ‘I won’t allow that’.

“There are other referees that won’t talk to you, which is unfortunate because I think if there was that kind of interaction between the management and the referees it would work a lot better.

“You’ll go out one day and you’ll be allowed to do one thing and the next day you won’t be allowed to do it, which is unfortunate but that’s the way it is.”

Deegan insists speaking to referees is not a course of action they wish to pursue. “Because we see that the referees are going to vary, we ask them beforehand especially with regards to the tackle and stuff like that because that is one of the things we would work on in training, is our tackling.

“We try to ask referees, “Is there anything in particular you won’t allow or you’re going to watch for?” Some referees will tell us and that’s part of it.

“We do our tackling and if a referee says to you, “I’m going to pull for any holding or any catching”, the players understand that.

“We say it to the players and they understand. No matter what you say to a player, a player will hold or a player will pull but at least if they have some idea, it helps.”

Deegan recognises referees are ambitious and are keen to take charge of big games but says it comes at a price.

“They want to get All-Ireland semi-finals and finals and they all want to improve. It’s the same as the players: they want to improve and they want to move on. You can understand that and you can understand unfortunately that they go out and they think, ‘I have to do this’.”

Meanwhile, Deegan said there would be no need for Hawk-Eye were umpires trained to a higher level.

While saying Sunday’s error was “just a glitch“, he remarked: “If I’d a choice I’d concentrate more on the training of umpires. I do it myself for friends who are referees. It’s not a job that you love doing because nobody wants to make a mistake. It’s human nature and humans make mistakes.”

He added: “You watch some of their positioning, it’s not great as far as I’m concerned especially for a game in hurling. If you’re not behind a post you’re not going to see. You see some of the umpires and they’re standing beside the posts and they haven’t a hope of seeing what happens.”