REFEREES NOT SO VAR AWAY FROM HELP THEY NEED
COLM LYONS did a pretty good job in Ennis last Sunday. Cusack Park never feels more claustrophobic than on a Championship afternoon, but the Cork whistler did his best to keep some sort of order on the chaos around him, which is often all a hurling referee can do. Even prior to sending Gearóid Hegarty off, the decision that so vexed John Kiely, Lyons did his utmost to make sure he got it right. Working off the principle that four sets of eyes are better than one, he consulted with his sideline official and two umpires. He spent more than two minutes trying to get to the bottom of the incident that left Aron Cunningham on the deck. But here’s the thing. Imagine an alternative reality, where a video official was sitting in Cusack Park’s crammed press box or watching a monitor on the side of the pitch. They would have been able to see instantly on replay what did, and did not, happen and whether Hegarty’s actions warranted a second yellow card. I’m not calling for a video referee or TMO in Gaelic Games at a time when VAR decisions are still such a bone of contention in soccer but we should, at least, be having the discussion. In both Gaelic football and hurling, the fitness and conditioning of the players are at such a level that it doesn’t seem fair to ask a referee to keep pace with the game for 75 or 77 minutes. Former Armagh great Oisin McConville has called for a second referee in Gaelic for a while now, simply because of this and the hurling 2020 committee (remember that?) also suggested that its game should have two referees at intercounty level. However, GAA referees have such an incredibly difficult task, because it is all so subjective. In both codes, if games were called to the letter of the law, much of what makes the sports so thrilling would effectively vanish. This is especially true of hurling. Games would no longer develop into the exciting gladiatorial contests of high summer. On RTÉ last Sunday, Shane Dowling said Fergal Horgan was the best ref at the moment. Why? Because he lets the game flow, as Brian Gavin did when he was there. But to let it flow means to overlook a lot of physicality which could be deemed fouls. A certain level of anarchy has to be allowed. It means turning a blind eye to certain things, and this means that Championship matches often simmer at a high temperature and, occasionally, boil over. But, because it is so subjective, no two hurling referees have the same style. One person’s common sense could be another one’s nonsense. The tide has been turning with the idea of video technology helping officials during championship. Both Pat McEnaney and Gavin, two of the most respected whistlers in either code, have both come out in favour of it in recent years. Limerick GAA proposed a motion to Congress about its use following the officiating error that saw a
last-minute 65 not awarded, resulting in them losing the 2019 All-Ireland semi-final to Kilkenny by a point. Mayo GAA called for VAR last year after Eoghan McLoughlin got his jaw fractured during the semi-final against Dublin. Momentum is building for its introduction. In the Towards 2034 report, which was to help with strategic planning ahead of the 150th anniversary of the GAA, it was stated that ‘the broadest range of supportive technology will be available to those officiating games at intercounty and club championship level.’ That is only 12 years away and it is inevitable some sort of VAR will be in play by that stage, but what form will it take? The challenge system in American sports is not without its flaws, as anyone watching the NBA play-offs will know, but allowing a manager two or three challenges to review a referee’s decisions seems fair. And as they do in the Premier League, a video official could bring ‘a clear and obvious error’ to the ref’s attention. Colm Lyons could have done with someone watching a replay in Ennis last Sunday.