THE disquiet among some Irish soccer referees deepened yesterday when Paddy Daly relinquished responsibility for nominating officials to take charge of international and European club games.

Earlier Daly, the senior referees' inspector, had discussed the grievances of the international referees' panel with Des Casey, a vice president of the FAI and Bernard O'Byrne, the association's chief executive.

A subsequent statement said that Daly had withdrawn voluntarily from his role of making international appointments, pending a full report by Bill Attley, the chief referees' inspector. In the interim O'Byrne will assume responsibility for appointing referees.

Although the dispute is confined at this point to the panel of international referees, it is understood that it has relevance to the appointment of match officials for domestic fixtures.

Daly, a highly respected official in the international refereeing community, has been in charge of Irish appointments for the last five years. He believes that he will be vindicated by the final report and intends to remain involved.

One of the international referees grievances is that their members have not on occasions been, given sufficient notice when required to officiate abroad.

A case in point is that of Joe Byrne, the Dublin official, who was informed at a relatively late hour that he would be required to take charge of the UEFA Cup game between Karlsruhe and Rapid Bucharest in Estonia on September 24th. Byrne subsequently announced that he was retiring from refereeing.

While conceding that the revised appointment was made belatedly, officials said the appointed official, Dick O'Hanlon of Waterford, withdrew some 24 hours before the game following a family bereavement.

There was a time when Irish referees complained bitterly that they received insufficient recognition from UEFA. That situation has since changed, and so far this season the FAI has received invitations to supply the match officials for 22 games.

With just six referees, Joe Byrne, Paddy Dempsey, John McDermott. Dick O'Hanlon, Gerry Perry and Brendan Shortt, on the FIFA register, that has occasionally meant severe impositions, particularly in instances where the referees involved are self employed.

However, some will see in this latest upheaval the symptoms of disharmony in a sphere of the game once renowned for its solidarity.

Last year two well known officials, Tommy Traynor and Michael Tomney, were successful in court actions when they claimed that they had been unfairly removed from the panel on grounds of fitness.

Others will interpret yesterday's statement that direct responsibility for match appointments has reverted albeit on a temporary is, to Merrion Square, as a disturbing development.