Flouters of rules must be reined in

GAA: Oh dear. The bumper weekend turned out a disappointment. Not taking away from Kilkenny or Armagh but their awesome performances, maybe not surprisingly, failed to excite a response and the matches ended as cakewalks, writes Seán Moran.

The unexpectedly tight Munster football final was poor quality and foul-ridden and even the rare treat of a hurling match in Killarney was spoiled by supporters' difficulty in getting to the venue and the unacceptable state of the playing surface.

More dispiriting than any of these matters was the ratcheting up of the disciplinary problems that have become part of the weekly schedule of events during this summer. Last weekend was no exception but more critically the very basis of the authority that makes sport possible was challenged and challenged successfully.

There were dramatic pictures of Roscommon referee Gerry Kinneavy being escorted off the field in Limerick's Gaelic Grounds by gardaí as Kerry supporters howled their disapproval and county manager Jack O'Connor ran towards the official (before thinking better of it).

GAA president Seán Kelly left himself open to criticism for implying that the Garda are a bit quick to grant referees security cordons but he had a point. The two matches I've seen in Limerick in recent weeks have ended with the home supporters baying at the referee, who was then surrounded by dutiful gardaí and escorted off.

It's better to be safe than sorry and maybe the escort discourages any deranged element that might have violence in mind, but the most sinister incident I saw was an empty plastic bottle hitting one of the entourage on their way off the pitch - not to be trivialised but not exactly an orange alert either.

One referee who officiated at a match in the Gaelic Grounds earlier this year told me he was - a trifle unwillingly - offered the same protection but chose to slip away and exit amongst the players in order not to be at the centre of unwelcome publicity.

Limerick may have captured more media attention but the more serious incidents were in Semple Stadium. Which brings us to Kilkenny manager Brian Cody's behaviour in Thurles.

Within the broader GAA community there is sometimes a tendency to question opinions on the basis of their provenance rather than their substance, so first, some background. My coverage of the Kilkenny hurlers since Brian Cody took over six years ago has overwhelmingly been respectful both of the team's achievements and Cody's central role in bringing it about.

On two occasions he has been very unhappy with items I wrote - one concerning the 2000 All-Ireland media night and the other to do with Charlie Carter. His displeasure was conveyed to me in both instances by third parties.

It should equally be emphasised that at no stage did he try to penalise this newspaper in its coverage of the Kilkenny team and in post-match situations he has always treated me with the same courtesy as he would any other reporter.

In the aftermath of last year's All-Ireland final I had an awkward clear-the-air conversation with him and both of us seemed content to leave it at that. So it's an uneasy task again to criticise him when - judging by Sunday's post-match reaction - he plainly feels he has done nothing to merit censure.

Although he will have to be held to account for what he did - constant encroachment on the pitch and persistent intimidation of match officials - the behaviour was equally symptomatic of the problem now facing the GAA: erosion of authority and an unwillingness to accept that any considerations supersede the partisan imperative.

That's an unfortunate state of affairs for referees, who, every week, have to occupy that middle ground. As a collective they don't help themselves by being squeamish about applying the rules. A red-card blitz followed by appropriate suspensions would have a radical impact on players, who probably would be happy with the imposition, however belatedly, of consistent authority.

But what sort of example is it to players when a manager flagrantly ignores the rules and flouts the authority of the referee? Cody is not the only manager to have lost - or dispensed with - control in this manner. In recent years Larry Tompkins had to be persuaded by one of his players to leave the sideline after being ordered to do so by referee Michael Curley.

Tom Carr, when Dublin manager three years ago, also ranted and roared at Curley during the All-Ireland football quarter-final against Kerry.

And with depressing symmetry there have been similar reactions in some quarters. Just as Carr was publicly "credited" by a former Dublin player with triggering Dublin's revival in 2001, Cody's transgressions earned plaudits from former Clare selector Tony Considine (whose normally reasoned and lively analysis appears in the Irish Examiner).

He wrote: "Some people were suggesting that he bullied the referee. I don't believe that for one minute. Galway were far too timid on the line."

Whether he bullied the referee or not - and the fact is that Diarmuid Kirwan, one of the more highly regarded of the up-and-coming hurling referees, had a match he'll want to forget - the Kilkenny manager broke the rules. Galway's Conor Hayes didn't and now after the nightmare of Sunday has to endure criticism that he somehow let the team down by not abandoning the restraint necessary to the fair conduct of all sport.

It is surely in the GAA's best interests that deliberate disregard for the rules and match regulations are punished. With all the flak now regularly directed at referees, are they to suffer the additional discomfort and disrespect of sustained harassment by managers?

The Games Administration Committee have to act on this and beyond that should be looking at reversing their recent liberalising of pitch access. For instance the invasion of the water carriers at Croke Park on Sunday was a sign that concessions in this regard are now being abused for the purposes of sending messages onto the field.

The trend that has seen panel members located in the stand should be extended to team officials. One runner as in International Rules should be allowed to communicate changes on the field. Water stations should be on either side of the field not on it.

Otherwise there should be no presence on the sideline. Last Sunday was merely the most recent demonstration of why.