Is it finally time for two refs for all county games

[Jinxy]

1. On Sunday, the play didn't stop as the referee didn't deem it to be a foul. So who stops the game to review the incident, the referee or the TMO?
2. Technology wise it's probably easy enough to do a la soccer, but would only be available in Croke Park & Thurles, like Hawkeye.
3. Again, how does that work? Who stops the game to look at an incident?

I would favour the two refs solution, but each ref should have his own two linesmen in each half as well.
The game is too fast, with too many variables for a video ref to work well.

[Fuzzman]

With HawkEye if a score or wide is given wrongly then they tell the ref and he changes the decision so I can see something similar with a TMO. If the ref misses a foul the TMO tells him and it's up to the ref to heed it or to ignore it.

Most games from quarterfinals onwards tend to be in Croke park anyway so I think it would be easy enough to try it out for a year to see what they think. I'm sure the refs themselves would much prefer it as they would get a lot more decisions correct.
If for example there was an off the ball incident at the other side of the pitch and the ref didn't see it then the umpire or linesman can radio to the ref and he talks to the TMO ref who looks at it like the incident in the Tipp v Mayo sending off and can then make the right call.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/football/four-talking-points-from-yesterdays-all-ireland-sfc-semi-final-418267.html

[Lar Naparka]

1. On Sunday, the play didn't stop as the referee didn't deem it to be a foul. So who stops the game to review the incident, the referee or the TMO?
2. Technology wise it's probably easy enough to do a la soccer, but would only be available in Croke Park & Thurles, like Hawkeye.
3. Again, how does that work? Who stops the game to look at an incident?

I would favour the two refs solution, but each ref should have his own two linesmen in each half as well.
The game is too fast, with too many variables for a video ref to work well.

C'mon Jinxy, be serious..
As it is we have seven officials involved in a game and you propose adding three more! 
Why not follow the rugby route and empower any of his assistants to draw the ref's attention to an incident on the field?
As things stand, the potential for disaster is ever present if you get one horse's ass of a ref, (Martin Sludden?) but add in another and people will turn up for the craic and not be too fussed about the result.
Imagine the scene..
Joe Mac sees a foul out around midfield and reaches for the red card- no problem, this is an open and shut case. (Say two bucks fighting- one is clearly the culprit)
However, Maurice in the other half of the field sees an incident that happened a split second earlier and he too reaches for his red card.
Problem is that he deems the other head to be the guilty party.
So, what next?
Are both players going to the line or will the referees a coin to see which of them gets to wave his red card?
Better still they  could bate the shite outa each other in the true spirit of the GAA in the modern era.
The more I think of it, the more I'd like to see two refs proposal put into effect. Since most games are pure shiote anyway, you'd at least get some value for your money with the comedy going on out on the field.

[Jinxy]

Ever notice the way all the officials in rugby are looking at more or less the same area?
The players only come together for set pieces or in the tackle zone.
Also, it's a much smaller field of play.
In football or hurling, the ref and his linesmen could be down one end of the field while all hell breaks loose in the other half.
Having a ref in each half, with everyone miked up is a better solution than introducing a video ref.
At the moment, half the dopes at football matches think every foul is a black card, could you imagine the amount of roaring at the ref to "Go upstairs, ya bolox!"?

[Lar Naparka]

Ever notice the way all the officials in rugby are looking at more or less the same area?
The players only come together for set pieces or in the tackle zone.
Also, it's a much smaller field of play.
In football or hurling, the ref and his linesmen could be down one end of the field while all hell breaks loose in the other half.
Having a ref in each half, with everyone miked up is a better solution than introducing a video ref.
At the moment, half the dopes at football matches think every foul is a black card, could you imagine the amount of roaring at the ref to "Go upstairs, ya bolox!"?

True but my point still holds; the linesman may draw the ref's attention to something that happens behind his back or if he's unsighted or whatever.
And in rugby also, there are plenty of off the ball incidents when the action is elsewhere. The principle of Occam's Razor should apply here.
Namely, if there are a number of suggested solutions to any issue, the least complicated one is generally the best.
You can't avoid problems if you have one set of rules for games played in, say, Croke Park at the quarter final stage or higher. But what about a club match in some godforsaken part of the country? (No I did not mention Roscommon!)
Could you expect ten officials to supervise the game when two small boys and a collie dog make up the entire attendance?

[Jinxy]

The collie could do one of the lines surely.

[sligoman2]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2017/0921/906617-if-a-dub-did-what-keegan-did-thered-be-blue-murder/

Seems like Charlie Redmond agrees with my suggestion.  The amount of off the ball stuff that went untected or at least unreported was ridiculous, I'm not saying it should all be penalized but 2 refs imo would curtail a lot of this stuff.

Note to gaa - players don't fear linsemen or umpires, so that's not the answer as most of them see no evil or hear no evil..

[Milltown Row2]

That headline in the link should also have

If a dub did what O'Gara did ... oh wait gouging is fine

[blewuporstuffed]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2017/0921/906617-if-a-dub-did-what-keegan-did-thered-be-blue-murder/

Seems like Charlie Redmond agrees with my suggestion.  The amount of off the ball stuff that went untected or at least unreported was ridiculous, I'm not saying it should all be penalized but 2 refs imo would curtail a lot of this stuff.

Note to gaa - players don't fear linsemen or umpires, so that's not the answer as most of them see no evil or hear no evil..

A complete irony bypass from Charlie here:

"Where would the argument be now? The debate would be, quite justifiably, that the result be set aside, the game replayed and whoever threw the GPS be banned for the next game.

Given that he was sent off in an allireland final, yet didnt go off .
I wonder would he thought it was 'justifiable' if the result was set aside in that game and replayed, with him suspended?

A lot of hyperbole about what Keegan did, but quite honestly it has been blown out of all proportion.

In regards to the second ref. this is something we dont need (and would be a disater IMO).
If we want to help the referees, give more power  and better communication to the assistant referees he already has in the form of linesmen and umpires.

[sligoman2]

With all the bad press the hurling refs have gotten the last few days, I think this subject will be brought up soon for debate.  To me it's common sense to have 2 refs, how can one man handle all the on the ball stuff never mind the nasty stuff going on off the ball.  I don't understand how this hasn't been implemented years ago to be honest.

[From the Bunker]

With all the bad press the hurling refs have gotten the last few days, I think this subject will be brought up soon for debate.  To me it's common sense to have 2 refs, how can one man handle all the on the ball stuff never mind the nasty stuff going on off the ball.  I don't understand how this hasn't been implemented years ago to be honest.

The biggest problem is consistency. After a couple of minutes of a game, the Referee sets the agenda. You will get a fair idea of what he will be strict on and what he will let go. If you have two Referees this could cause conflict with decisions.

[sligoman2]

I get your point but the pros far outweigh the cons in my opinion.  Having a ref in each half will cut down on off the ball stuff and will ensure a ref doesn't have to make a call from 80 yards away.  Think of all the bad calls that have been made over the years because the ref couldn't see what was going on because he was blocked or was too far away.  I think the consistency thing could be overcome easily by appointing refs with similar styles for games.  I think county players work way to hard to have a season taken away by bad or missed calls.  Look at the limerick sideline on Saturday, shocking that the ref, linesman and umpires all missed it yet every Limerick player did.  It's just not good enough.

[Milltown Row2]

I get your point but the pros far outweigh the cons in my opinion.  Having a ref in each half will cut down on off the ball stuff and will ensure a ref doesn't have to make a call from 80 yards away.  Think of all the bad calls that have been made over the years because the ref couldn't see what was going on because he was blocked or was too far away.  I think the consistency thing could be overcome easily by appointing refs with similar styles for games.  I think county players work way to hard to have a season taken away by bad or missed calls.  Look at the limerick sideline on Saturday, shocking that the ref, linesman and umpires all missed it yet every Limerick player did.  It's just not good enough.

The linesman and his umpires didn't see it! But another ref on the other side of the pitch would have? Ffs stupid point, one ref is plenty, he's wired up to the umpires and linesmen plus fourth official at at Croke the Hawkeye team, but hey one more will sort it! Give the linesmen more power, I'm all for that, in circumstances I've refd at I'll blindly take the call of a linesman and blow straight away

Refs, like players won't always have the best game, anyone looking to have game played at rugby pace and monitored accordingly can go f**k themselves. The game is fine as it is, two cracking semifinals should produce a brilliant final

[Main Street]

I get your point but the pros far outweigh the cons in my opinion.  Having a ref in each half will cut down on off the ball stuff and will ensure a ref doesn't have to make a call from 80 yards away.  Think of all the bad calls that have been made over the years because the ref couldn't see what was going on because he was blocked or was too far away.  I think the consistency thing could be overcome easily by appointing refs with similar styles for games.  I think county players work way to hard to have a season taken away by bad or missed calls.  Look at the limerick sideline on Saturday, shocking that the ref, linesman and umpires all missed it yet every Limerick player did.  It's just not good enough.

The linesman and his umpires didn't see it! But another ref on the other side of the pitch would have? Ffs stupid point, one ref is plenty, he's wired up to the umpires and linesmen plus fourth official at at Croke the Hawkeye team, but hey one more will sort it! Give the linesmen more power, I'm all for that, in circumstances I've refd at I'll blindly take the call of a linesman and blow straight away

Refs, like players won't always have the best game, anyone looking to have game played at rugby pace and monitored accordingly can go f**k themselves. The game is fine as it is, two cracking semifinals should produce a brilliant final

An umpire is not a ref, and as an aside, wtf does there have to be two of them?  Two umpires each end,  4 in total but only one ref??

Two or more refs are used in many sports, even indoor court team handball where the game shifts end to end in a few seconds.  It's not about one ref's interpretation of the rules of the game, it's about the rules of the game being applied and two refs, one in each half, can work together to police the game.

[Baile an tuaigh]

Hurling rules are not meant to be implemented per say. They are merely guide lines. If you were to implement the game by the rule book then it would turn into a game of free's. I referee hurling game's and never once felt the need for two referee's. Even in bad tempered games. If you have good solid lines men and umpires that should be enough.