GAA 'out of step' by forcing referees into retirement, insists Kennedy

Referee David Coldrick during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final match between Mayo and Louth. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

The GAA has been accused of being 'out of step' with other sporting organisations by forcing top inter-county referees to retire at 50.

Former All-Ireland SHC medallist David Kennedy argued that it's a 'short-sighted' measure which amounts to an 'awful waste of resources'.

This year's Leinster SFC final referee David Coldrick is the latest leading whistler who will shortly drop off the national roster in line with the age limit.

Contributing to Newstalk's Lunchtime Live programme, Kennedy said that it was a similar situation for fellow Tipp man Derek O'Mahoney who had to finish up last year.

In Coldrick's case, he appeared to be operating at the peak of his powers and took charge of the All-Ireland SFC semi-final between Mayo and Louth.

"I look at some of the referees I've played under, a very well-known and very well-respected referee here in Tipperary is Derek O'Mahoney," said Kennedy, Tipp's All-Ireland winning centre-back in 2001.

"I've had the good fortune of being on pitches with Derek and the knowledge and experience and temperament that he brings to the game...and then for these men to just stop at that level and step away from it, it's a huge adjustment for them and their families.

"Look, I think it's very, very short-sighted. It's just so strange that an organisation would so openly discriminate against people based on their age. It seems an unusual thing to do."

Coldrick himself, in an interview with the Irish Independent, stated that he didn't feel the age limit was appropriate.

"I was looking up some of the websites and it's very interesting to compare the GAA to other sporting organisations," said Kennedy. "FIFA, the international soccer body, they actually had a mandatory retirement age of 45, and they dropped that age limit, so there's no age limit on international referees whatsoever with FIFA.

"The same applies to UEFA and the English FA. Interestingly, the Irish FA have a mandatory retirement age of 53, the Irish Rugby Football Union have no official retirement age. They do have a retirement age of affiliate referees of 60 years of age, which is quite generous.

"So the GAA appears to be out of step in comparison to other major sporting organisations. It just seems so short-sighted that we have such a lack of real quality referees on the field at the moment and to allow all of that experience and knowledge to just step off the pitch, and not ever be able to tap into it again, seems such an awful waste of resources."