The case for GAA to introduce a match official whose sole duty it is to review video replays to make decisions has been growing. Joe Brolly has been a strong advocate of bringing in rugby's TMO into GAA, and referees endorsed the idea at the national seminar of referees last December.
But GAA director general Páraic Duffy is not in favour. Not even slightly. Speaking at the announcement that the GAA had secured €2.4 million in funding for the promotion of the games to young people, Duffy argued that the move would be counterproductive to GAA, and that it would totally distort the sports:
I heard this being argued, I think by Joe Brolly last weekend. I watch an awful lot of sport, I watch rugby and American football. They go back to these people to check angles and where does it end? This was a penalty incident — do you show videos again for other fouls further out the field, do you do it in sendings off? Where does it end?
Duffy used the example of Mayo's penalty against Fermanagh last Saturday to highlight his point. He says that the incident to award the penalty was subjective because no angle shows where the defenders hands were, and how long would it be for a TMO to review that? How disruptive would that be?
I think it would completely and totally distort the game. I think that would be an absolutely extreme solution and I wouldn’t favour that. Our games are games that flow, they are not stop-start games. I personally wouldn’t be in favour of that.
I just don’t think it’s worth it, I don’t think we should go that way. I think you have to accept the fact there will be controversies and mistakes from time to time and that’s what you buy into.
It's hard to get more definitive that that.
There's unlikely to be a TMO in GAA any time soon.
[Irish Examiner]
