Abuse of New York referees must stop

By Pierce O’Reilly

For God’s sake lads, don’t say anything to the referee, he’s only a bollox," was one of the many insulting comments hurled from the sideline at Gaelic Park last Sunday. Indeed, the above comment was on the mild side compared to some of the ref bashing that takes place at Van Cortlandt Park and at Rockland GAA pitch every single evening the GAA is in action.

Mark my words, the comments are true and came from more than one sideline straddler running riot along the wings.

"It’s not acceptable and I’ll back the referees to the hilt," GAA president Monty Moloney told his delegates earlier in the year. "If players abuse a referee, they should be sent off. The same goes for managers, selectors or other club officials. If they open their mouth to any GAA official on duty that day, including the referee, they should be sent from the grounds."

However, the top GAA chief has failed to stand by the bravest men in the association. Moloney and New York GAA is not protecting the whistle blowers and his words were more in gesture and than in earnest.

Ref bashing in New York is common place. Over the last few weeks the men in black have been criticized and lambasted like never before in the association’s history. It is a sad situation and one that should not and cannot be tolerated. In many respects, modern-day referees are like lambs to the slaughter. Even when they are right, they are wrong. If he performs well, he is seldom given credit. But should his performance fall in any way below par, he is abused from every angle. Every finger in the losing camp points at the referee and it happens in every club and on every Sunday.

Scathing attacks are hurled at New York referees with impunity every Sunday at Gaelic Park as they leave the field. It is only a matter of time before some lunatic strikes out and hits the man in black. When it happens, the New York GAA should hang its head in shame. The club should be banned forever.

This situation is quite simply not good enough. In fact, it’s a disgrace. Every close championship match played in New York, be it men or women so far this year has resulted in the referee being abused verbally.

Disgruntled managers, players and supporters alike all vent their spleen in the general direction of the man they ridiculously blame for their demise. And it’s not just the losing teams — sometimes those on the winning side of the fence also have an indignant swipe as well. The situation is sad, the constant whinging and moaning has become commonplace among our embittered members.

Underage managers drill their troops with the notion that you learn more in defeat than in victory, that it is more important to be gracious in defeat than arrogant in victory. One wonders what happened to the so-called gracious New York performers. Losing is never easy, but bad refereeing is rarely, if ever, the cause. The man in black will always make mistakes, as do managers and players, but he’s there to do his best.

Refereeing in the U.S will always be suspect when no training or coaching has taken place, yet the whistle-blowers are not brutal or biased. Borderline calls in close matches will always be disputed, but it should not result in ignorant insulting. The stakes are high, the pressure has increased and the supporters demand more every year, we all agree, yet it goes no where to explaining the present New York moaning mindset and it will never replace the insults and abuse that shows the exiles game in a bad light.

"Lads, the referee is always right and will never change his mind," has being hurled around dressing rooms for donkey years, yet it seems to be falling on deaf years in New York. The whistle blowers in the Big Apple are not perfect; GAA honcho Monty Moloney should have training seminars every summer. In many incidents the New York officials are bordering on mediocre, yet they are honest in their endeavor. One man is asked to watch 30. Is that fair?

The scapegoat is always the man in black. Players diving, faking injuries, hitting off-the-ball, and umpire and linesman intimidation are all commonplace at Gaelic Park. Surely the most understanding of Gaels can see how difficult it is to be a referee. They don’t have eyes in the backs of their heads; they can’t see and judge everything that happens during the course of a game. The men in black are being hung out to dry and, depressingly, Moloney doesn’t seem to care. They deserve better protection.

Bad referees frustrate both sides. Their performance however, usually evens itself out over the hour and rarely benefit’s either side. To be honest, few, if any, players or supporters know all the rules. Who are they to judge?

A 21-year-old Galway footballer was sentenced to nine months in jail for a serious assault on another player recently. A Wicklow intercounty footballer was suspended for six months for a striking offense. A Wexford football manager got a two-year suspension for planting a haymaker on the jaw of local referee. These are the ones that make the headlines, but there are countless infractions.

Some may argue that is not possible to reform this area, that our attitudes to referees and other figures of authority are rooted deeply in the Irish psyche. It will certainly take time. New York needs to start now.