Finally, there is some light at the end of the tunnel
Encouraging moves to ‘mike up’ refs would improve things for everybody
THEY say a man with a fondness for the microphone will always tell you what he loves most... the sound of his own voice. We have all been there, drowning in our soup at the wedding dinner where the father of the bride – after one too many sweet sherries – has discovered that, in losing his daughter, he has found his voice.
Enough of those bad experiences will leave you cursing the genius who came up with the idea that any person’s words ever required amplification, but RTÉ’s Head of Sport Declan McBennett hit the nail on the head this week when he called for GAA referees to be ‘miked up’ for live broadcasts.
It’s something I have argued for before on this page but, like the nightmare wedding dad, there have been times when I felt I had lost the room.
However, McBennett’s insistence that it is a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ has filled me with renewed hope that we will finally get to that stage where the silence of referees will no longer be deemed as something golden.
McBennett made the point that in ‘mikeing up’ referees, as applies in rugby, it would ensure that everyone – the wider public, commentators and pundits – would benefit from having sound to go with the pictures.
He was right in all of that, but the two biggest beneficiaries will be players and referees themselves.
We continually hear about the need to have respect for referees and I absolutely concur, but it is a two-way street.
Last weekend the Listry team I manage lost to Listowel but, even so, there wasn’t a cross word in our dressing room afterwards because everyone accepted the referee had a fine game. In explaining every decision he made, he won players’ admiration and respect.
That is a rarity because those levels of communication are rarely encouraged in the GAA. It was my pet hate as a player when a referee would not respond to a query as to why a call was made – instead you were met with a stone-faced expression and a pointed finger.
That is incredibly frustrating for players and it hardly needs explaining that respect struggles to flourish in an environment where the word of the law doesn’t have to explained.
That is why wiring referees for sound would transform the relationship between players and referees – something we saw in the 2015 documentary, when David Coldrick was ‘miked up’ for our final against Dublin.
Honestly, in all the times David officiated games I played in , I don’t think he ever spoke as much or explained himself so clearly as he did that day because he was fully aware that he wanted to come across well.
I am not saying that in a negative way but if referees went into every big game aware their voice would have to be heard, I genuinely believe they would be more judicious in their calls because they would have to be explained, they would have to engage with players and, as a result, the scope for players showing dissent to match officials would be drastically reduced.
After all, when you are talking, you are less likely to be fighting.
I know that the usual criticisms will be made and that McBennett is serving his own self-interest in that the broadcasting of games would be enhanced by having live input from match officials, but it would also illuminate and educate.
For example, not only would it reduce frustration with players but it would also address the friction that often develops between referees and managers who are also left in the dark. With referees
A mistake can happen but, if it is not explained, it can feel like an injustice
‘miked up’, a member of the backroom team could be tuned into the feed and, in turn, communicate the official’s actions to the team manager.
It does not mean that he would have to agree with the decision or that it was even the right call but, more often than not, criticism from managers is sourced in lack of information.
It can result in eventual punishment for coaches, while referees feel slighted.
A mistake is a mistake once it has been explained but, when that doesn’t happen, it feels like an injustice. The biggest criticism of going down the route of ‘mikeing up’ our match officials is that it will only apply to a small number of elite games every year, but, with the number of live broadcasts, that is more than enough to change mindsets.
The fact of the matter is that, no less than the young child watching David Clifford, the club referee watching David Gough will take his lead and inspiration from those at the elite level performing at their best.
And watching referees explain their every decision would feed down to the club game because a standard would have been set and the expectation would be there for it to be met.
On the flip side, club players watching county players showing referees respect would also become the norm rather than the simmering sense of conflict that so often exists.
It is maddening to think that we have this technology – and that at the business end of the Championship, broadcasters have access to live match official feeds to allow for more informed commentary – but we are not using it for the collective good.
Time to let them find their voice, so reason rather than rancour wins out.