Gough’s call took genuine courage

IT’S never easy to be the first. It’s never easy to go against the consensus, to poke your head above the parapet and by doing so raise a number of concerns that, while not as prominent in the national conversation as they once were, haven’t really gone away.

David Gough, to give him his dues, has been consistent on this. He said as much months ago that he’d likely not feel comfortable enough to return to refereeing in the absence of a vaccine, and he’s held true to that conviction.

We have to say, we’ve got nothing but admiration for him for doing so, and for advocating publicly and eloquently for his position. By being the first to opt out so publicly, the Meath official has made it easier for others who feel similarly to him to do the same. As excited as we – and a lot of us – are by the impending return to action, there has to be respect for people like Gough who opt out. More than respect even, they deserve support and encouragement. If you feel the same as Gough, there’s not a thing wrong with that. There’s not a thing wrong with opting out. The virus hasn’t gone away, even if we seem to have contained it fairly effectively for now – stress on for now. There is going to be a certain amount of risk involved with the return to play as they will be with the wider reopening of society and the economy.

The question for us now as individuals is how comfortable are we with the risk involved in various aspects of our lives and sport is no different. It’s also a question of what we can do to mitigate those risks. Do we wear masks at the supermarket? Very few of us do and, maybe, we should start. If you’re living with a vulnerable person is it worth the risk of going back to play an amateur sport? These are very real questions that people are going to be weighing up over the next little while. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on people to play or to officiate or whatever, nothing overt or sinister you understand, simply peer pressure driven by the majority’s excitement and desire for things to get back to normal. We just have to be aware of the fact and show understanding for those who feel differently.