Follow AFL and double up on refs, says Earley
BEFORE the winner-takes-all International Rules Test in Perth last November, Ireland manager Paul Earley brought a special guest in to address the squad in the build-up. Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley was the figure he leant on the previous year as Ireland coasted to success and this time it was Ric Charlesworth, a doctor and politician, one of the most celebrated coaches in Australian sport. Just last month, the man who guided the Australian women’s hockey team to Olympic gold medals and World Cup success in the 1990s, was back in touch with Earley. Over in London for a break, he wanted to come to Ireland and take in a game. His host knew just the thing: Kerry versus Tyrone in the All-Ireland football semi-final. ‘His first observation, immediately afterwards, was, “You have got to have two referees. It is simply not possible to referee the game like that with one referee, with everything going on”,’ revealed Earley. ‘He made the point that the referee is following the ball so he can’t see what’s going on behind, any incidents. He also feels he was too far away from the ball on occasions.’ After the fall-out from ‘Rufflegate’ and Tiernán McCann’s dive during a spiteful All-Ireland quarter-final between Tyrone and Monaghan, along with the controversy following the Dublin-Mayo drawn game and the Diarmuid Connolly saga, there has been calls for the GAA’s entire disciplinary system to be overhauled. The solution, as Earley explains via Charlesworth, could be a lot simpler — introduce a second referee. ‘My personal view is that we need two referees in the game,’ explains Earley. ‘For a number of reasons... one, the game has got much faster. Two, we experienced it in the International Rules, and with the background I have in the AFL, I can see the value of it. It would bring the referee much closer to the play. In Gaelic football, there is so much going on behind the play and off the ball.’ He makes a telling point that in Australian Rules Football, the AFL are currently trialling a fourth on-field umpire or referee. ‘Australian Rules is played on a bigger pitch. They have three field umpires. Each of them takes a third of the pitch effectively. Move with the ball, with the play. Then you have the boundary umpires plus two goal umpires... now they’re trialling a fourth field umpire. So instead of working in triangles, they’ll have four squares. So you’ll have a referee very close to the play at all times. ‘They see more incidents, more offthe-ball stuff. And generally, from what I gather, it has been regarded very well.’ As for its practicality given the GAA’s need to bolster refereeing numbers as it is, he replies: ‘People say it’s hard to get one referee. My argument is that the reason it’s hard to get one is that it’s an awful job. Very difficult. Former players recognise that they’re on a hiding to nothing if they get into it. ‘Having two referees takes the pressure off. You might find that because it’s easier, you might find that you’d have more people putting their hand up.’