Aidan Forker has welcomed the addition of ref-mics and feels that inter-county refereeing should be a professional job.
Respecting the referee is a central part of the Football Review Committee's overall plan to improve the game of Gaelic football, with the new rules trialled in the weekend's inter-provincial competition.
Referees are given more ammunition to protect themselves under the new laws, with the option to bring the ball forward 50 metres if a player forcibly challenges their decision regarding a free.
Aggressive dissent from officials or subs is also penalised with a 13 metre free-kick, in a bid to cut out poor treatment of referees.
At the same time, the new rules inevitably place further responsibility on referees, leading to some concerns regarding officiating.
Forker says making refereeing a professional job can incentivise referees and also improve the standard of officiating.
"It's a big pressure on amateur referees. To me, we should be pushing for potentially professional referees," he told RTÉ.
"We put a lot of time into it for decisions to be made and to me, referees need to be held accountable.
"But if they're professional, they could run all the schools competitions and they could train referees and incentivise more referees, to me that would be an obvious way to go.
"I know it's an amateur sport, but there's so much at stake in these big games.
"They do a great job, but it could be even more professional," he said.
"There are probably a couple you would tweak. I don't think you'll know much about it until it's properly coached and we get a bit of time at it for the league, if they do come in " - Armagh captain Aidan Forker's thoughts on playing under the proposed new rules #GAA pic.twitter.com/nwWNFLeVI5
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) October 19, 2024
Ref mics were used over the weekend, and the All-Ireland winning captain says it will benefit players, referees and spectators.
"I think it's a very good thing. Yes for the spectator, but also for clarity around keeping one clear around the decision making of what refs are doing.
"I found the referees to be very approachable, I suppose if you go to them with the right approach.
"David (Coldrick) tonight was chatting away, that idea of respecting the referees only bodes well. As long as you're explained, I'm happy to know what I've done wrong as long as I'm told about it."
