O’Sullivan ‘a torment to refs’ at club level

Declan O’Sullivan says a lot of the sacrifices made by county players are "unrealistic" and "frustrating", given the inconsistency of refereeing.

The recently-retired five-time All-Ireland winner with Kerry believes match officials aren’t helped by the vagueness he believes exists in the rules of Gaelic football.

O’Sullivan also admitted his attitude towards referees, especially for Dromid Pearses and South Kerry, could have been better.

“Look, I have a reputation,” the 31-year-old told Radio Kerry’s Terrace Talk this week. “It’s one thing I would be disappointed with. It’s something I’ve tried to work on numerous times but I still haven’t got on top of it. I was probably a lot better at inter-county level but at club level I could be a bit of a torment to refs.

“It’s obviously a very difficult job to do, refereeing, and I respect any fella who takes that job on. But the problem is the rule book isn’t helping referees. There are too many grey areas, whether it is the training or whether they’re not putting enough time into developing the rules or coaching the refs how to implement them.

“Every day you go out you’re not sure how it’s going to be reffed and if it’s going to be reffed differently. That’s no fault of any one individual but that can be very frustrating if you’re putting all this time into it, if you’re training four or five times a week, if you’re travelling a couple of hours to training. Your social life is put on the back burner, your family life is suffering. I haven’t gone on a summer holiday in 12 years.

“All these sacrifices that players are making, and you’re playing games and nobody seems to know what’s happening with the rules. It’s pot luck on the day if you’re going to get the rub of the green or not. There’s definitely an area where we can either improve some of the rules or improve the implementation of the rules.”

O’Sullivan ranks this year’s All-Ireland title as the sweetest, given the way Kerry moulded themselves specifically to what was put in front of them. However, he puts 2009 closely behind it. “There were a couple of times that year when we looked dead and buried but I think the spirit and the honesty of the group got us through some tough times. Then when we got to Croke Park it was likely flicking a switch.”

As close as he was to his clubmate Jack O’Connor, the 2006 and 2007 All-Ireland winning captain also praised Páidí Ó Sé. “If it was Jack who brought me into the senior set-up, I was very proud of the fact Páidí saw my ability. It put confidence and faith into me. I think I was a different player in 2003 from working under Páidí.”