Is it finally time for two refs for all county games

[Jinxy]

A Duffy in each half.
The stuff of nightmares.

[sligoman2]

Once again I state that the time has come for two refs.  I feel bad for Joe Mcquillan who made a terrible decision but a decision he felt was the correct one. 


Disgusted with Aidan Oshea he should hang his head in shame, no place for this in Gaelic  football

[macdanger2]

Once again I state that the time has come for two refs.  I feel bad for Joe Mcquillan who made a terrible decision but a decision he felt was the correct one. 


Disgusted with Aidan Oshea he should hang his head in shame, no place for this in Gaelic  football

You're right - it has no place in football and something should be done to stamp it out. But looking at it objectively (and forgetting all the faux outrage), is what AOS anything more than an extreme example of what happens in practically every club and county game around the country? Corner forwards grabbing the arm of the defender and going to ground is cheating in the exact same way, it's just less obvious. This isn't something AOS invented, it's almost become part of the game at this stage.

[Esmarelda]

Once again I state that the time has come for two refs.  I feel bad for Joe Mcquillan who made a terrible decision but a decision he felt was the correct one. 


Disgusted with Aidan Oshea he should hang his head in shame, no place for this in Gaelic  football

We already have three refs at intercounty games. The problem is that two of them are being wasted calling sideline balls and very little else.

I agree with you sentiment but I think if the two linesmen are brought in from the line they'll still be able to do their current job as well as act as additional referees.

[Disillusioned]

I feel bad for Joe Mcquillan who made a terrible decision but a decision he felt was the correct one. 

No he didn't, he just guessed and gave a decision in favour of O'Shea who had been in his ear all day complaining about how he was being treated by those rough boys from Fermanagh. 

McQuillan, like a number of other so called top referees, interprets the rules of the game instead of implementing them because he believes he knows better than the rule makers.  The black card was meant to reduce certain behaviours including cynical fouls, O'Shea should have been off the field long before the penalty decision in which McQuillan at best could not see what was happening before claiming he saw a jersey pull.  Referees should just implement the rules as written, there is no need for interpretation but first they need to know the rules in detail. If this was a Premier League soccer game, McQuillan would be stood down from top line games until he proved himself in lower levels.  In the GAA, he will be given an even more important game to prove the arrogance of the organisation when any challenge is mounted or evident.

No thought is given to the Fermanagh players who have put everything into their efforts this year and had it taken away from them by non-implementation of the rules of the game and poor decision-making.  Time for change is long over due and it doesn't mean having two poor decision makers on the field instead of one.

[Esmarelda]

I feel bad for Joe Mcquillan who made a terrible decision but a decision he felt was the correct one. 

No he didn't, he just guessed and gave a decision in favour of O'Shea who had been in his ear all day complaining about how he was being treated by those rough boys from Fermanagh. 

McQuillan, like a number of other so called top referees, interprets the rules of the game instead of implementing them because he believes he knows better than the rule makers.  The black card was meant to reduce certain behaviours including cynical fouls, O'Shea should have been off the field long before the penalty decision in which McQuillan at best could not see what was happening before claiming he saw a jersey pull.  Referees should just implement the rules as written, there is no need for interpretation but first they need to know the rules in detail. If this was a Premier League soccer game, McQuillan would be stood down from top line games until he proved himself in lower levels.  In the GAA, he will be given an even more important game to prove the arrogance of the organisation when any challenge is mounted or evident.

No thought is given to the Fermanagh players who have put everything into their efforts this year and had it taken away from them by non-implementation of the rules of the game and poor decision-making.  Time for change is long over due and it doesn't mean having two poor decision makers on the field instead of one.

McQuillan was about 50 metres from the incident and the umpire was clearly shown to indicate a jersey pull. Isn't it plausible and even likely that he took the advice of his umpires?

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

McQuillan was about 50 metres from the incident and the umpire was clearly shown to indicate a jersey pull. Isn't it plausible and even likely that he took the advice of his umpires?

We're not talking about a (relatively) inconsequential free here, but a game-changing penalty. So Mc Quillan still fails on several counts: 1. too far off the pace and too far away from the action 2. For an incident that he had no clear sight of (apparently), to take the uncorroborated word of his umpire for such a key decision is remiss (why couldn't he have confirmed it with his linesman?). 3. The deceiving individual in question, O'Shea, should not still have been on the pitch, due to the referee's earlier incompetence in not awarding a black card for O'Shea's cynical foul.

[redzone]

What might work would be something similar to Aussie rules were u sight an opposing player after the game and a committee looks at all these infringements on a tue/wed. eg black card that was missed during a game would mean 2 game ban. If the punishment was doubled up and players knew they wouldn't get away with something behind a refs back then I think it would stop a lot of foul play.

It couldnt be hard to take a look at replays on a tv screen by an official somewhere for big calls like penaltys or square balls either,

[Disillusioned]

If it was the umpire then not the first time one of these untrained mates of a referee has decided to take matters into his own hands and give incorrect information.

Can't see how a jersey pull would result in such a fall to the ground, hence it was always a dive by the cheat O'Shea and we are left to speculate on the motives of the umpire.

[Esmarelda]

McQuillan was about 50 metres from the incident and the umpire was clearly shown to indicate a jersey pull. Isn't it plausible and even likely that he took the advice of his umpires?

We're not talking about a (relatively) inconsequential free here, but a game-changing penalty. So Mc Quillan still fails on several counts: 1. too far off the pace and too far away from the action 2. For an incident that he had no clear sight of (apparently), to take the uncorroborated word of his umpire for such a key decision is remiss (why couldn't he have confirmed it with his linesman?). 3. The deceiving individual in question, O'Shea, should not still have been on the pitch, due to the referee's earlier incompetence in not awarding a black card for O'Shea's cynical foul.

How is a ref supposed to keep up with the game? If a long ball is given in he's automatically behind the play. Maybe he asked the linesman and the linesman saw nothing. What then? One says yes the other says no? If it had been a definite penalty and he decided to go with "no" then he'd have gotten abuse too. The umpire to the right as we look at it was best placed to call it.

I don't recall the foul you're talking about it, was it the high tackle he got a yellow for?

I'm not saying the ref had a perfect game. I just have sympathy for him as the game is impossible to referee as it stands.

[Halfquarter]

A lot of over the top comments on here today. Not everybody can go home happy, unfortunatly.

[general_lee]

A pretty straight forward solution would be a TMO. Have another ref up in the stand with a TV monitor. Any suspicion of a penalty - radio him, consult the umpire or linesman. Same for any decision with which a referee is not 100% sure of.

Majority rules - if 2 out of three from the ref, TMO and linesman/umpire agree on a decision - that decision goes. This would lift an immeasurable amount of pressure off the referees, would lead to less cynicism/cheating and ensure more fair play for all concerned.

[Blue in hope]

Joe McQuillan had referees as umpires yesterday. The umpire who called it has refereed the Cavan County final and does most matches in the Cavan championship each year.

[The Insider]

I would be interested in what the assessor made of the ref in Clones yesterday, for about an hour last night  we felt he was riding us . He seemed to realise the 2nd black card was wrong and seemed to give everything to us in the closing minutes. He took advise from Cassidy who also made the 1st blackcard call and who was the referee in our match against Down and was let know by Longford players and managemen how they viewed his preformance. Was this a factor ? . While I would accept they all try to do their best ,last night in Clones all match officials where from Ulster, sideline officials all Ulster council plus the referee's umpires . Total  11 'match officials ' from Ulster where an Ulster team playing a Leinster team . This will always lead to accusations of bias

[Disillusioned]

Read this to see how referees are manipulated at county level:

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/john-fogarty/gaa-referees-back-in-the-crosshairs-408527.html