It's fair to say that GAA refereeing is becoming an increasingly difficult task at inter-county level.
The speed at which the game is now played at both codes makes it difficult for an official to cover the type of ground necessary to keep a close eye on the game. Add to that the increased physicality of the sport and you can see why refs may need a bit of extra help.
Having qualified referees on each sideline obviously helps in that regard, although some feel that the GAA should go even further in an attempt to aid the officials.
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GAA: Former referee suggests change to rules on umpires
Whereas sideline officials at inter-county level are all referees, the same cannot be said of umpires.
Referees will often bring people known to them in order to fill that role, even if they are not fully fledged officials themselves. That can lead to some issues when it comes to interpreting potential infringements in and around the goalmouth area.
Speaking to Tipp FM, former inter-county referee Fergal Horgan suggested tweaking the rules so that at least one qualified referee would be present at each goal for inter-county fixtures.
Former inter county referee Fergal Horgan says there should be at least one referee acting as an umpire at each of the field at the inter county grade..
Full interview with Fergal will be aired at 6pm on Friday evening's Across The Line with @PCarrollSport #GAA #hurling pic.twitter.com/pVcm3HzNEn— Tipp FM Sport (@TippFMSport) May 9, 2024
I think the time has come where we need to have at least one referee at each end umpiring.
I know from my own refereeing, I had two former referees, one at each end...
I had two referees at each end that knew the rules of the game inside out. Square balls or any infringements made inside the large parallelogram, according to the rules they can bring that to the attention of the referee if they think a foul has been committed.
That was brought in at Congress a couple of years ago, so that is there for the referee and the umpires. But it's no good unless the umpire knows what the rules are.
I think the day has come where we seriously need to look at having one inter-county referee, or former inter-county referee, at each end for matches.
This makes a lot of sense.
Having qualified GAA referees should aid the matchday officials to make the correct decision, especially during instances where they themselves may have been a good distance away from the potential infringement.
It will be interesting to see if it something that could be introduced moving forward.
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