“We have reached a crisis point.”: Recent attacks on GAA referees sparks nationwide outrage in Ireland.
Recent attacks on GAA (Gaelic Athletics Association) referees have sparked nationwide outrage in Ireland. There have been four attacks in as many counties within the last two weeks. Kerry, Mayo, Roscommon and most recently Wexford have been the locations for these heinous attacks, and they have contributed to a growing fear that referees may retreat from this now hostile environment within amateur GAA.
All incidents related to Gaelic Football are currently being investigated by the GAA and the CCC (Competitions Control Committee). A combination of coaches and players have instigated these violent altercations towards referees yet nobody has yet been held accountable in each incident. The case in Wexford is being further examined by the Garda Síochána, with eyewitnesses confirming the referee had been seriously hurt. It is quite astonishing that this is still a normality, but it does not come without reason.
Wexford GAA Chairman Micheál Martin recently spoke about the critical condition of referee welfare, claiming the situation has reached “a crisis point.”
Martin added that “a small number of games, stretching across several age groups, haven’t been able to go ahead because of the lack of referees.”
This is obviously a frustration for everyone connected to the respective clubs, but you have to spare a thought for the younger players who live and breathe the game. No GAA on the weekend is a big cultural shock to everyone within the confines of the sport. The GAA Referee Administrator for County Mayo, Sean Mac Eil, is also warning that there is a real shortage of referees across the country.
It is the first time that major figures within the hierarchy of the organisation have taken notice of the issue. Being from Ireland and having played the game for several years at an amateur level, I can say that these attacks have always existed, so this is not new. However, given the high number of incidents in recent weeks and the fact that legal action has been taken in one particular case, the matter can no longer be ignored.
It feels as if this is a result of the meager funding that the GAA provides for referee training. Young people want to referee GAA games as they are either competing in the sport themselves or they can’t see the appeal. Who can blame them? There is also so much pressure on amateur referees to control a game that has thirty players on the pitch.
Former Galway full-forward Kevin Walsh featured in a podcast on JOE.ie and, when asked how tough it is for referees to manage a game, he said that “one man cannot do that.” He also makes an interesting point that certain leniencies within the game create an aggressive and emotional atmosphere on matchday.
For example, if one player starts an altercation with an opposition member, both parties will be booked. No matter how little the person who is fouled reacts, even if he does not react at all, nine times out of ten he will be booked.
This exposes a huge issue within the training and academic practices given to referees, if there are any at all. This flaw only seeks to aggravate players and, in a game as confrontational and physical as GAA, this needs to be examined.
Referees need serious help, and the GAA needs serious questioning. Their willingness to fund and internally improve the welfare of referee’s is being doubted and no games on the weekend marks a flashpoint.
