Paddy Heaney lambastes Down Club Referees

[never kickt a ball]

So Paddy doesn't like Tyrone players, Tyrone supporters, Derry County Board, Referees, Down Officials and Flynns. The last is understandable....

I wonder who he'll pick on next week.

Ladsbroke:

Weighty women in belly tops 5/4
Henry Kelly 2/1
Journo's wages 7/2
RHF 9/2
Himself 150/1

His Car Mechanic - Name your own price 

Well with no Derry performance to slobber over Paddy has to turn his attention to someone 

Brolly, Barton, Tohill.......... have all been very quiet this week 

[Aristotle Flynn]

Referees in the lower leagues of any county are easy targets. You can't expect to have the best refs in the county doing Div 3 or 4 every week. Having said that Heaney does make a good point about getting the refs you deserve if more lads won't volunteer.
Johnnycool has a point about hurling. I actually think the standard of hurling refs in Down is better than the football. At least there seems to be greater agreement between players and officials on what the rules are. Particularly when it comes to fowls. Maybe its just more clear cut in hurling.

[Lecale2]

  Particularly when it comes to fowls.

If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck?

[spiritof91and94]

From a Down point - Leo Smith ticks all Paddy's boxes! The worst ever to don the black jersey!

[Rick O Shea]

Particularly when it comes to fowls.

Is this often open to debate at down hurling games?

Good man lecale, beat me too it...

[TORGAEL]

Have to agree with Spirit re Leo Smyth.......he's brutal.

[No1]

JC, did ye have to tell everyone where yer man was from?!

Sure isn't he now a highly rated inter county referee?   

[Whitehair]

We have a soft spot for him No1, so much so we made a written request to the county board for him never to referee a match involving our club again!

[6th sam]

Whereas I think it's unfair to name and shame individual referees on the worldwide web,I think Paddy's comments will open up an important debate.Generally speaking,I would agree there is less controversy associated with hurling refs-that's the nature of the sport.
However,Paddy should be praised for having the guts to challenge referees.I think his frustration comes from being involved in urban clubs ( Glenn and Bredagh)-who tend not to be treated sympathetically by the majority of refs(I'll show these townies who's boss).
The problem with refereeing being an unpopular task ,is that the GAA adopts an "any port in a storm" mentality,and anybody who wishes to volunteer for a whistle is given full support by the GAA regardless of their performance.
The difficulty is that there is no means of constructive criticism and accountability for referees,and clubs are afraid to formally criticise the referees as they fear it will come back on the club in future refereeing.As a result clubs subconsciously choose the only avenue open for criticism-that is verbal abuse of the referee on the day

A few recurrent refereeing problems I have come across:

1.refs using bad language.
2.refs mistaken or lying in reports.
3.refs late/fail to show up.
4.refs with alcohol on board/hungover
5.refs not being fit to keep up with play
6.non-neutral umpires /linesmen at crucial playoff matches.
7.apparent lack of concern and failing to note serious injuries.
8.officiating at matches involving former club or 1st degree relatives,friends ,work colleagues
9.refs declaring pre-match-"you'll be ok 2nite-I can't stand these boys"
10.refs admitting to sharing prejudices among themselves,and thereby prejudging certain teams/mentors.

Despite all these and other concerns,most clubs have never officially challenged any referee through the refs campaign committee-as they fear they will suffer the consequences.Until  there is a channel for constructive criticism and praise, referees will continue to abuse their power,and clubs will continue to barrack refs on/off the field.

Regrettably the GAA has reacted to current disciplinary issues by trying to further gag constuctive criticism.Until we as an organisation have the courage and maturity to commit to the development of referees,we will continue to have problems.

Lack of accountability is a recipe for disaster in any organisation.If we can develop channels for constuctive criticism/praise and subsequent sanction/reward,we can then get to a stage like Rugby ,where the referees word on the day is sacrosanct,and he can only be spoken to by the captain of the team.Hopefully that day comes sooner rather than later.

[hectorsheroes]

Was at a 2nds match the other night between 2 local rivals, both teams had a panel of about 23 players each, there were the guts of 50 people there to watch being a local derby and a good Sunday evening. So about a hundred people there - guess what - no referee turned up so everyone waited way over an hour, not even a sign so everyone went home - total disgrace. Paddy Heaney has raised plenty of valid points with his article

[behind the wire]

i think you have summed it up well there 6th sam.

i know referees take alot of abuse at times but sometimes it just cant be helped. the referee not knowing the rules is common in the reserve leagues.
no matter where a referee goes there will always be some eejit to give him abuse no matter how good he is. in my opinion frank mcdonald is the best referee i have ever been refereed by and even he gets abuse from some slabber on the line. however, what really annoys decent gaa people is the apparent lack of common sense, lack of guts or just pure bias that is often displayed by officials. for example, in a league playoff final last year our best player was badly injured in an off the ball incident (he required 8 stiches and couldnt see from one eye for two days). the ref consults his umpire who obviously gives him information about the incident. the ref calls the culprit over and gives him a yellow card. this is the sort of thing that paddy is on about. im sure veeryone has their own story to tell. but what does a ref expect after doing something like that.

by the way, although some of the refs mentioned above are poor i dont think we should mention their names. its a hard enough job to do without seeing your name slated on a discussion board.

[thebandit]

I played a reserve match recently where the ref had two brothers playing for the opposition!

Turns out he used to play for that club, fell out with them and transferred to a neighbouring club, for whom he now referees.

The game was one-sided, we won easily, and there wasnt a bad tackle in the whole game. It was agreed by all that despite the refs peculair position, he had done fairly well.

However, After the game one of his former teammates headbutted him on the way into the dressing rooms.

[5 Sams]

Couple of others to add to your list 6th Sam.

Refs who pick fights with mentors/supporters in the middle of a game..
Refs who single out county players for "special" treatment....and I dont mean protecting them.
Refs betting on one of the teams they are refereeing...I kid you not!!!

[Blacksheep]

Could people post the full names, addresses and phone numbers of all the refs in their county and then we could ring them up or call round to give them some advice/constructive critisism.

I think honest feedback from fans and players away from the field of play will help improve standards.

[Balboa]

I have to agree with Johhneycool about Declan Magee, he was very close to getting a slap from one of our plyers before in a match & im sure i will be lambasted for saying this but he would have deserved it !! The sick thing about him is he has had a meteoric rise through the ranks.......