Referees ready to crack down on head-high tackles

INTER-COUNTY referees are being urged to issue red cards in this year’s football and hurling championships for head-high tackles.

Collisions or strikes that impact the head of an opponent will be considered dangerous play, meriting a red card, head of the National Referees Development Committee Willie Barrett has warned.

Contributing to a melee will also be scrutinised, with third, fourth and fifth players in, leaving themselves open to red cards.

It follows a review of the leagues which showed a number of trends, chief among them head-high tackles.

“A strike to the head in hurling or football, we’re saying in the interests of fair play, is definitely a red card,” said Barrett.

Barrett said he didn’t believe hurling required a black-card sanction for deliberate pull-downs and denied that there were multiple incidents of such offences in the league. He also feels that the use of a system like rugby’s television match official “will be looked at in the future” but with so many changes to the games in recent years it may take time.

“I’m sure that’s something that will be looked at in the future. How soon? I couldn’t answer. I don’t know where we’d start but there is always a starting point.” Barrett’s predecessor Sean Walsh was in favour of a video ref but former director-general Páraic Duffy was opposed to it as he felt it would slow down games.