Player welfare not the only focus for Duffy

The job of new GAA player welfare manager Paraic Duffy has taken on a new aspect with the news that he is now also responsible for the welfare of inter-county referees.

An email circulated to County Board secretaries earlier this week confirmed Duffy's responsibilities and rubber-stamped the fact that County Committees are responsible for the medical costs of all referees.

The Monaghan man is happy to address referees' concerns which, in some way, mirror those of the players.

"Referees do have the same concerns as players," Duffy said. "They want to be as well prepared physically as they possibly can and we will be sending them advice on nutrition, hydration and areas like that."

Duffy stressed the importance of looking after referees, who generally have a higher age profile than their playing counterparts.

"At the last referees committee meeting, Professor Niall Moyna of DCU spoke to them about training and we have to keep them in the best possible shape for the games they are refereeing."

Last night the Player Burnout Taskforce held a meeting at Croke Park, and while progress is being made, Duffy is also conscious that a lot of work has to be done before firm decisions are decided upon.

"The response has been very positive to date. We had some presentations last night and we still have some more research to do on the psychological and physiological aspects and when that's completed we will get around to making the hard decisions."