Middle men take all the hits

For a start there will always be problem with pitch incursions until the GAA develop a system like in rugby. You don't see Warren Gatland and Donal Lenihan hopping up and down the sideline at internationals, they're in the stand. I was looking at the Fitzgibbon Cup final the other day and the amount of people on the line was unbelievable.

There's over 30 people on the sideline in most matches, but any time you speak out about what goes on you're out to get the county or the individuals involved. As long as we allow that, things won't improve.

A runner should be used like in Australian Rules. Managers are too involved. Maybe they go on to attend to an injured player, but while they're there they'll end up having a cut at the referee and at any other player involved.

Another bone of contention I remember was that there was no right of reply for referees. That used eat at me like a cancer. In my many years involved, there were times when I wanted to scream out. It mightn't be appropriate to mention specific incidents, but after the Cork-Meath final in 1988 I couldn't say why I gave the free (which levelled the drawn match). In the middle of all the controversy I felt totally alone and utterly helpless.

On the field, referees get a terrible amount of abuse from players, mentors and crowds. Unfortunately there are referees who take it and others who can handle it. It separates good referees from bad ones. There are two types of abuse: one is spontaneous and relates to a single decision and you have to be flexible with that; the other is persistent and has to be stamped out. It's something that referees in other codes don't have to put up with to anything like the same extent.

Pressures mean that the rules don't always get implemented. Sometimes we don't have the courage to end up flashing a card all day. When the game is freeflowing - never mind that fellas are killing each other - it's great refereeing, although there may be fellas up in Vincent's with broken fingers. But in fact that's bad refereeing. However, if a ref keeps blowing up and the match is all frees, he's the worst in the world. If a referee imposes the rules, he'll end up the middle of a controversy. It'll be kicked around on television on the Sunday night, on the radio on Monday evening, as well as on about two local stations. And no-one offers him any support. No-one rings up and defends him. Referees will ring each other privately in support, but no-one from Croke Park will ring up and say "he was right and he imposed the rules".

This will be a referee who's travelling 300 miles to do a match and getting nominal mileage and £15 for something to eat.

Rules in football are also part of the problem. I'm involved tutoring referees now and the hardest thing to define to fellas starting out is the tackle. You can shoulder an opponent, shadow him or block or flick the ball. There's no other contact allowed.

We should just define it like in Australia. A player can be held between the shoulder and waist and the onus is on him to release the ball. The current tackle leads to fellas wriggling around with the ball looking for a free and has caused a lot of inconsistency.

There has to be consistency in the way offences are dealt with, off the field as well as on it. There should be no special pleading. What's applied to Carlow and Westmeath should also be applied to Cork and Kerry. Pitch incursions have to attract mandatory suspensions whether it's Ger Loughnane or Mick O'Dwyer. Would Jack Charlton have run onto the pitch the way Sean Boylan did the other day?

The problem is consistency. We need to look at ourselves. To be honest I can't see anything much being done about it. Clearing the sidelines for instance will never happen.

I'm glad I'm out of it.