GAA issue statement on referees

The GAA's Central Council and Management Committee have released a statement in relation to the rising incidents of abuse towards referees.

The statement condemned county officers and team managers who have vented their anger at referees publicly and called on them to 'defend and protect' the men in black.

Disciplinary Committees were also urged to take 'stern and swift action' against people who abuse referees with 'words or gestures before, during or after games'.

The statement also clarified that no team official could contact a referee after a game to seek clarification of his report, that any attempt to contact a referee would be considered as 'intimidation' and no referee or his family could be approached at his home or place of work about a game

The GAA's statement was in response to recent matches where referees had to be given garda escorts from pitches and to public criticisms of referees by inter-county managers.