It’s time to call a halt on sledging
I REALLY enjoyed watching Monaghan’s win over Cavan last weekend and it confirmed my instinct that Malachy O’Rourke’s team are the best in Ulster right now.
It was a far more open game and high quality contest than had been anticipated, while the Galway/Mayo game which followed defied difficult playing conditions to produce a fine contest.
It was a great afternoon’s entertainment, yet watching both games I found myself thankful that I am no longer out there.
Why? There is a nastiness which had seeped into the game in my final years which was on open display last Sunday.
I lose count of the amount of times when after an attacking player kicked a score, he was either hit on the way back out by a defender or he got his revenge in first by celebrating his score by driving into an opponent.
In the process, the aggressor each time can be seen mouthing abuse at an opponent, sledging his heart out to what end I don’t know.
Only one player, Galway’s Gareth Bradshaw, was cautioned for aggressively – he started shaking Cillian O’Connor as if he was some kind of rag doll – reacting to an opponent scoring.
Referees need to come down harder on incidents like this which happen time and again in the immediate aftermath of a score being recorded or a shot being missed, but they need a change of rule to enforce it.
If it is the defender who is the aggressor, then his pain deserves to be doubled by the referee awarding a tap over free against him. If it is a forward who is caught taunting that free, he should be moved down the other end of the field to ensure he has nothing to shout about.
This is a stain in our game and if players can’t afford each other respect then they should be taught it.