The pursuit of perfection just gets harder

Refereeing standards:  In difficult times for referees Ian O'Riordan discusses the tribulations that face the men in the middle with the experienced John Bannon.

For the past week or so John Bannon has spent some time talking with those who share his profession. Like a county team that has had a bad experience at Croke Park there is some consoling to do, some lifting of spirits. Referees have feelings too and still have to please so many people, so much of the time.

"When a referee gets criticised, whether it's Gerry Kinneavy or Mick Monahan, we all get criticised," he says. "John Bannon also. We're all part of the same scene and we all feel the brunt of that criticism."

Bannon is not just regarded as one the most experienced intercounty referees around, but also one of the most enthusiastic. In other words a dying breed. At 39, he's already got two All-Ireland football finals to his name, last year's decider between Armagh and Kerry and also the 1998 final between Galway and Kildare.

A native of Longford, now living in Tullamore, he's been on the intercounty scene for the past 10 years, coming through the usual route, a former player who won county championship medals at various levels with Legan Sarsfields. But when he talks about the hard couple of weeks for his profession he touches also on some of the wider issues that not only affect referees, but clearly the GAA as a whole.

"Every day I meet people, either at lunchtime or on the street or wherever, and they're giving out about this, that, or the other. There is a major problem trying to keep everyone happy. Especially the media and TV people and the supporters, in trying to allow open games.

"But if the teams go out to play football then the referee will never be an issue. It's only when you get the messy situations like we've seen in the last few weeks that the serious issues arise.

"And the last few weeks have been hard. But I still feel the difference between a good referee and a bad referee are the two or three major calls that you have to make in every game. Like a penalty, or a sending-off. The important thing is to get those right, and not things like the extra hop of the ball."

Bannon does not hide from the fact that many of the issues raised in the past week are serious. Like the lack of consistency, the differences in interpretation of rules, and the enduring amount of pressure placed on referees in an faster paced game.

"The lack of consistency is the one thing I would be disappointed with. Consistency has always been an issue, but I suppose it's been an even bigger issue in the last few weeks. And we have to hold our hands up on that one.

"But the thing is you could have two John Bannons refereeing the same match and you could still see some inconsistency. On a lot of the major issues we are all going to interpret things differently. You will never get 20 intercounty referees to go out and referee exactly the same."

The issue of freedom in the interpretation of rules was highlighted this week by Pat McEnaney, and Bannon is quick to support his philosophy: "What Pat was saying was that if a player makes a fair attempt to get to a ball, but it ends up as a foul, he doesn't get a tick or a yellow card. And that would be the same with a lot of referees, even though that is not written in the rulebook.

"But you're also trying to avoid the scenario where you have this series of yellow cards, and five or six players might be sent off without one bad foul being committed in the game. That's not right either. To me it's just about sensible refereeing. But a lot of people would still see that as not applying the rulebook."

What has added to the problem, says Bannon, is the range and often unnecessary amount of responsibility still placed in the hands of an intercounty referee.

"The first thing that has to be looked at is the amount of administration that is still placed on the referee. The amount of paperwork alone during a game is becoming nearly impossible. I know it might only be a tick in the notebook, but with the pace of the game now, if you are to tick a player it means looking down at the notebook, at the free being taken, and giving notice to the player. All this without holding up the play. So sometimes we are more inclined to let it go.

"And I'd be particularly fussy about timekeeping. Like everyone, I have been criticised about it in the past, but I would argue that I've got it right most of the time. Still I would have no problem with the timekeeping going to the fourth official. That and some of the paperwork, where provided you had a proper link-up, you could just say the number four is ticked, or whatever.

"Right now, apart from refereeing the game, you have all this additional stuff like paperwork, starting and stopping the watch, recording the scores.

"I mean the physical demands are more than enough as they are. Refereeing these days is like going out to run a marathon. The physical demand is the main challenge. And we still have all this administration stuff to go with that."

Many of the problems that Bannon highlights regarding unnecessary responsibilities are supported by Frank Burke, chairman of the National Referees Committee. "Everything we do now should offer them assistance," says Burke, "to make it an easier job to referee. And to ensure we do nothing that puts further pressure or responsibility onto them. They need to be able to officiate at ease. And that should be something of a yardstick when thinking about rule changes in the future."

Rules changes are one thing, and for now are put on the long finger anyway, but there is still the hope that some day they will make Bannon's life a little easier.

"Well I wouldn't have any problem with the use of a video referee. You just have to think about the journalist sitting up in the pressbox, who can watch the replay in slow motion if he wants to. So for major calls, such as a sending-off, or a goal issue, I would have no problem with it. Again if the radio link was good enough. You couldn't limit it, but it would have to be for the major issues.

"That is a long way off, but ultimately it would be better to wait 30 seconds to get the call right, rather than get it wrong, and have a team win or lose an All-Ireland on it."

Even the radio link-up between the referee and the linesman has been put on hold as the equipment undergoes necessary modification. Jimmy Darcy, coaching and referee co-ordinator at Croke Park who oversaw the system, is confident it can be restored for next year.

"The two main problems were the sound quality, and the comfort of the package. But it is something we intend to pursue, obviously with a higher quality package, when that becomes available."

For Bannon, though, the thoughts of the past week have run even deeper, and examined the very soul of his profession.

"What I'm clearly seeing is that the numbers of referees around the country are getting smaller, and the age profile is getting higher and higher. I can see we're going to face a major problem over the next 10 or 20 years trying to get young people into refereeing. And these days referees would need to be starting at 25 or 30. Not when they've finished playing."