Ephie Fitzgerald rejects claim he 'attempted to barge' into referee's dressing room

The Waterford football manager insisted he did not enter Chris Maguire’s dressing-room at half-time in last Sunday’s Division 4 defeat to Sligo at Fraher Field.

Waterford manager Ephie Fitzgerald questions a decision of referee Chris Maguire in Sunday's Allianz FL Division 4 game against Sligo.

Waterford football manager Ephie Fitzgerald has vehemently denied the allegation that he attempted to enter referee Chris Maguire’s dressing-room at half-time in last Sunday’s Division 4 defeat to Sligo at Fraher Field.

The events of last Sunday, which saw Waterford finish with 11 players after three sending-offs and an injury-time black card, has prompted Fitzgerald to call for greater respect from match officials towards managers as he felt repeatedly stonewalled in his attempts to ascertain why three of his players had been shown red.

Fitzgerald received an official warning from Croke Park earlier this week for allegedly trying to enter the referee’s dressing-room at half-time in Dungarvan, as was claimed in the referee’s report. 

It is an accusation he rejects.

With Waterford captain Dylan Guiry having been shown a second yellow card as early as the 17th minute and fellow defender Dermot Ryan dismissed on a straight red card in first-half injury-time, Fitzgerald sought to speak with Maguire at half-time to learn why the two players had been sent off.

The Waterford manager said he knocked on the referee’s door during the interval break and requested to speak with Maguire, but at no point tried to enter the match officials' dressing room.

Fitzgerald has claimed he was told by Maguire that he would speak to him after the game, but said he was then met with silence when he approached the referee at the final whistle, by which time Waterford had seen another two players - Michael and Jason Curry - sent to the line.

Waterford coach Peter Leahy has received a one-match suspension for abusive language towards match officials at the final whistle, with selector Dermot Ryan another member of the Déise management team to be slapped with a ban for improper language. And while Fitzgerald said Leahy accepts that he “lost his cool a bit”, the manager cannot understand being given a warning for an offence he did not commit.

He also cannot understand why referees, when asked politely, cannot communicate to a manager why a game-altering decision has been taken.

“Respect has to be a two-way street between match officials and those on the sideline. If we are asked to show respect to officials, then we need a little bit of respect back,” said Fitzgerald.

“Once you are being respectful, why won’t the referee give you an answer to a question. Sligo had committed a couple of very dangerous high tackles, on Brian Looby in particular, and had only got yellow cards, so I was going to ask why our lads had seen red. All I wanted was clarification.

“I did all this in a very respectful manner. The report suggested I attempted to barge into the dressing-room, I never set foot in the dressing-room. I only knocked on the door.

“I have no problem with a referee making a mistake, we all make mistakes, but how can you not talk to a man. 

"If you knock at a referee’s room and politely ask if you can speak to the referee, as I did, surely that is not breaking any rules.

“But having the door closed in your face and to be told to get away from the door by another official, I just think that is appalling. The aggression shown towards us, particularly on the sideline, was ridiculous.

“For a game that wasn’t dirty by any manner of means, to have four players sent off was crazy. It really was a great game of football. It was just spoiled by all this stuff.” 

Waterford, who finish out their Division 4 campaign away to Cavan on Saturday, will appeal the proposed two-match ban handed down to Dermot Ryan for a striking offence.