GAELIC GAMES: KEITH DUGGANon the GAA's Respect Initiative was launched last year, placing an emphasis on working with rather than against the referee

THE VERDICT of the crowd leaving Austin Stacks Park in Tralee last week was they had witnessed a cracking game of football, featuring scores you might hope to see in mid-June.

But by full time, conversation revolved around Cork’s last free, which had led to the winning point converted from distance by Daniel Goulding.

Afterwards, Kerry manager Jack O’Connor grimaced when asked about it, pointing out managers “are not allowed” to speak about match officials any more and he left it at that.

Conor Counihan ventured to say the interpretation of the rules led to frustrations for both sides, adding he could see the difficulties from the referee’s perspective as well. And there the matter ended.

It was significant on two fronts.

The referee, Michael Duffy from Sligo, had no easy task in calling one of the fiercest rivalries in Gaelic football. As it happened, he showed a red card to a player from each side, but, overall, the game was open and enjoyable and intriguing. The way Duffy refereed the game unquestionably contributed to its overall flow.

Yet afterwards, none of the journalists present suggested to the managers the official had had a good game. But it was equally notable two of the most high profile managers in the game chose to keep their thoughts on the contentious last decision to themselves. It was a small but noteworthy victory in what is going to be a slow attempt to reform the general attitude towards referees in Gaelic games.

The logos on the referees’ shirts this year – Give Respect, Get Respect – is the most visible symbol of a concerted effort to reinvent the role of the referee in Gaelic games.

“What we have attempted to do this year is the logo on the jerseys, to acknowledge that there has to be a top down approach to this as well,” says Pat Doherty, national match officials manager. “And we are asking people at the top level to be, in a very small way, a little bit more respectful of referees.

“We met with managers last weekend and we have asked them to refrain from criticism in the media and if they have a concern to ring me or Mick Curley and that if they have an issue to raise, to raise it with us in a private fashion. And if we need to take anything on from there, we will.”

Last year’s shocking scenes at the conclusion of the Leinster football final, when referee Martin Sludden was jostled and assaulted by an incensed minority of Louth supporters was at the extreme end of the flashpoints but the scenes suggested a lawlessness and wildness at the heart of Gaelic games. It is an image the association is keen to combat.

The transition will not be easy.

The perception of the referee as an antagonistic force is dominant in GAA – it is commonplace for participants and supporters from both sides of a given game to harangue a referee over calls he makes. The GAA’s Respect Initiative was launched in all counties last year, placing an emphasis on working with rather than against the referee.

“So kids shake hands with the referee before and after games and are taught to respect his decision-making during the game,” says Nicholas Walsh, the GAA’s national development officer for children.”

“It is a must for us to develop that because if you don’t have that basic respect, you are going nowhere. The more we highlight it, the more people will come aware of it. That is the idea of the mini games at half-time. It is going to be on-going process, though.”

But anyone who has seen Cumann na mBunscol games will know that at primary school level, aggressive or negative attitudes towards referees is not a problem. Kids just play and don’t think to question the calls.

The transition occurs sometime between their introduction to the sport and their years of playing underage at club and school level. In short, they are influenced by what they see at senior level, from mentors to supporters.

“It probably does come from there but all we can do is try and get supporters to see that this is the message we are giving to young players,” Walsh says.

“We have to try and keep the visibility there and to constantly remind people so that the message gets across.”

While the GAA runs off hundreds of games at club and inter-county level each season without incident, its reputation has been badly dented by images and film capturing physical attacks on referees. The incidents are isolated but shocking and invariably lead to the simple question: why would anyone want to referee Gaelic games?

“In the beginning, I had looked at it from the outside and I wanted to give it a go,” says one referee who has officiated at the highest level.

“And I have had many more good days than bad in terms of the reaction of people. At the upper level of it I have travelled the world out of football. Being in Croke Park is a great buzz. So the positives far outweigh the negatives, in my opinion.”

He believes honesty is the prime attribute for any aspiring official; “to be completely honest in all aspects, including if you make a mistake.

“You are involved in a very passionate game where people take a very serious view of their teams. You can control the teams and players to some degree and you are encouraged by Croke Park to report that kind of behaviour. Nearly every decision you make leads to an increase in volume one way or another. But it is background noise and you can’t react to the crowd. A club game would be worse because you can hear the individual comments.”

The idea of a crowd channelling its collective frustration towards the obvious authority figure is hardly limited to Gaelic games. But it is remarkable how quickly a team – and its supporters – can perceive a referee to be “on the case” of their team and then focus on his every call. That in turn can heighten tension in the field and create a situation where the pundits declare the referee to be “in danger of losing control.”

For any referee, there is a fine line between keeping control and ruining the game with persistent punishment of fouls. Gaelic games – particularly football – demands a subtle interpretation of its rules: for instance, think how many “great” championship goals where the scorer has carried the ball more than the legal four steps and strictly speaking, ought to have been cancelled.

Even the most censorious referees turn a blind eye. “Passion” is the catch-all phrase for the heightened emotion at many GAA games: conducting that emotion is an unspoken part of the referee’s chore as well. But it leaves the association open to accusations of permitting – of even facilitating – a violent streak in its games.

People are concerned.

Derek Robinson, a former social worker who set a group called Anger Management Ireland recently contacted this newspaper to state he had drafted a plan which he hopes could lead to GAA clubs countering what he feels is an invidious culture of violence within the association.

“It seems to me for some time now the GAA has had a serious problem with violent and abusive behaviour,” he says. “Some of the violent scenes witnessed and reported, as well as being traumatic and dangerous for the people involved are also having the effect of turning many people away from the game completely.

“In my own local area a number of parents are strongly encouraging their young children to take up other sports because of what they perceive as a culture of violence that exists in the GAA.”

Robinson contacted this newspaper after sending an open letter to a number of GAA bodies and branches and failing to receive a single reply. His hope is to at least spark a more public debate about the issue.

That some are turned off the GAA after witnessing unpleasant incidents is probably true. But it is equally true the games have an unprecedented hold on the public imagination. More members means more games. That in turns necessitates more referees.

Last year alone, the GAA recruited 1,300 – around 40 new referees per county.

“What we are talking about are people who have done the basic club referees course,” Pat Doherty says. “They will range in age from teenagers to forty somethings. But the course is geared towards club level. It is not the 15 year olds – the Young Whistlers – who are refereeing U12 games. And the message is that being a referee can be a pathway to the top.

“You look at David Coldrick or Barry Kelly: they cut short their playing careers in order to concentrate on refereeing. Barry Kelly played hurling and football with Mullingar Shamrocks but when he started moving on in refereeing, he concentrated mainly on that. And we are finding that at all levels there is an element of enjoyment there.”

But the referees’ task would unquestionably be made easier if players and teams – and finally supporters – could learn to temper their fury when decisions go against them. It won’t happen overnight. Rugby is often held up as a model for Gaelic games: players habitually keep their annoyance bottled up and any show of dissent leads to discipline.

“I wouldn’t even like that,” says one referee. “I enjoy the banter. A lot of things are said over 70 minutes, some funny and some not. But it is all about how it is done and when it is done and the language it is done in. To be honest, some players like to debate a call and if they are respectful about it, they will get it in spades and I think that is healthy.”

A week into the new season and signs are that everyone is happy to play ball. For now.

Referee Flashpoints

1 Leinster Final 2010 Martin Sludden’s decision to allow a late, illegitimate goal by Meath’s Joe Sheridan proved the difference in the Leinster football final and sparked a ferocious reaction among a contingent of Louth supporters, who confronted and attacked the referee.

2 Mayo-Meath 1996 Only three players were not involved in the notorious brawl that broke out in the opening minutes of the All-Ireland final replay.

For referee Pat McEnaney, sorting out the guilty men was next to impossible. After consultation, he elected to dismiss Liam McHale from Mayo – the man-of-the-match in the drawn game and Colm Coyle from Meth.

McEnaney was then on his way to becoming one of the most respected and popular referees the game has seen but his name is always associated with that game. He later declared his regret was he didn’t send off two players from each side.

3 Offaly-Clare 1998 Offaly trailed by three points in the All-Ireland hurling semi-final when Jimmy Cooney blew for full-time five minutes before he should have.

Offaly fans took to the pitch in protest and by that night, a replay had been granted. Cooney was ashen as he was escorted from the field and would describe the subsequent hours as among the loneliest of his life as the implications of his mistake sunk in.

He did receive a few nasty letters but was taken aback by the huge outpouring of goodwill and sympathy for what had happened.

4 You Tube Attacks on Tipperary hurling referee Willie Barrett in a local championship game and on Galway referee Christy Helebert after the Mullagh-Loughrea 2009 county hurling semi-final generated a mass audience after being posted by YouTube: footage of the Galway incident has generated some 60,000 views.