Costly refereeing decisons

I see Anthony Masterson the Wexford keeper has been told to apologise in writing for his remarks or face an 8 week ban by the CCCC! The GAA getting a bit like Burma .... he'll be under house arrest next .....

Jayo Cluxton wrote:I see Anthony Masterson the Wexford keeper has been told to apologise in writing for his remarks or face an 8 week ban by the CCCC! The GAA getting a bit like Burma .... he'll be under house arrest next .....

I couldn't believe it when i read that, he was made apologise for telling the truth!

Cant believe this. When does the GAA apologise to players who train for months on end only to have a blatantly poor decision ruin their seasons and then threaten him with an 8 week suspension...they make it sound like players owe the GAA!

I don't remember too many people coming out and publicly blaming Masterson for costing Wexford a Leinster title, instead they kept their mouths shut and moved on. He should have kept his mouth shut, the fact was Wexford had the winning of the game with 10 minutes to go and didn't close it out and left Limerick back into it, no point blaming the ref for the teams shortcomings. Now if the ref had rode them from start to finish or had given 4 or 5 blatent decisions to Limerick then fair enough but a debatable score that could of when either way that was far from conclusive doesn't deserve the criticism the ref got from Masterson. Compare it to the way Louth got screwed last year, the ref was put in a tough position one umpire said wide the other said a point, he had to make a decision, obviously one team is going to be disappointed


Who would want to be a ref if this is the sh1t you have to put up with, in pretty much every other sport in the world when people come out and condemn refs in the manner Masterson did they would get a ban or a fine, should be no different for him

The Puke wrote:I don't remember too many people coming out and publicly blaming Masterson for costing Wexford a Leinster title, instead they kept their mouths shut and moved on. He should have kept his mouth shut, the fact was Wexford had the winning of the game with 10 minutes to go and didn't close it out and left Limerick back into it, no point blaming the ref for the teams shortcomings. Now if the ref had rode them from start to finish or had given 4 or 5 blatent decisions to Limerick then fair enough but a debatable score that could of when either way that was far from conclusive doesn't deserve the criticism the ref got from Masterson. Compare it to the way Louth got screwed last year, the ref was put in a tough position one umpire said wide the other said a point, he had to make a decision, obviously one team is going to be disappointed


Who would want to be a ref if this is the sh1t you have to put up with, in pretty much every other sport in the world when people come out and condemn refs in the manner Masterson did they would get a ban or a fine, should be no different for him

That would be entirely unfair. Every other sport in the world (as in majority) players are paid. While GAA is an amateur sport the refereeing standards are dropping and the GAA defend referees even when they are obviously wrong. Players and managers etc work very hard all season only to come undone thanks to the incompetence of one man but in their defence and as Loyal has previously stated, some rules are not clearly defined making them difficult to implement.

Hopefully Masterson does not give them the apology they are asking for.

GAA-Fan wrote:

The Puke wrote:I don't remember too many people coming out and publicly blaming Masterson for costing Wexford a Leinster title, instead they kept their mouths shut and moved on. He should have kept his mouth shut, the fact was Wexford had the winning of the game with 10 minutes to go and didn't close it out and left Limerick back into it, no point blaming the ref for the teams shortcomings. Now if the ref had rode them from start to finish or had given 4 or 5 blatent decisions to Limerick then fair enough but a debatable score that could of when either way that was far from conclusive doesn't deserve the criticism the ref got from Masterson. Compare it to the way Louth got screwed last year, the ref was put in a tough position one umpire said wide the other said a point, he had to make a decision, obviously one team is going to be disappointed


Who would want to be a ref if this is the sh1t you have to put up with, in pretty much every other sport in the world when people come out and condemn refs in the manner Masterson did they would get a ban or a fine, should be no different for him

That would be entirely unfair. Every other sport in the world (as in majority) players are paid. While GAA is an amateur sport the refereeing standards are dropping and the GAA defend referees even when they are obviously wrong. Players and managers etc work very hard all season only to come undone thanks to the incompetence of one man but in their defence and as Loyal has previously stated, some rules are not clearly defined making them difficult to implement.

Hopefully Masterson does not give them the apology they are asking for.

Whether they are paid or not doesn't make a difference, do you not think that profession players don't work hard, not all profession sports players make milions upon millions that is only the upper echelons of the big sports, what about those who are eking at the lower levels for sh1t money for the sport they love, it doesn't make a difference if they are wronged becaus they get a few pound???????....Again how was the ref blatantly wrong in the Limerick V Wexford match, it was a marginal call where it is inconclusive at best, a good few wexford fans on other forums said that it looked a point, again the ref was in a situation where he had two umpires who made two different decisions and the ref had to make a call. To come out and lambast him in the way Masterson has done is wrong and as I stated earlier it is a handy excuse for covering up their own shortcomings for losing a game that they had the winning of.


It is very seldom that an association would come out and criticise one of it's referees for making a refereeing error. We are all human and refs can make mistakes too, as i said fair enough if a ref gets numerous calls wrong in a game but one marginal call can go either way and that is sport

It is worth rememberig that refs put as much time into the game as the players yet get far more abuse when they have a bad day

Puke is right here. No refs = no matches.

Masterson was out of order, going well over the top on a man who may (or may not) have made a genuine mistake, and it is right that he apologises. I didn't see anyone ranting about him after he chickened out of a 50/50 ball and cost Wexford the Leinster title with that own goal. People in glass houses Anthony...

The example Masterson set was a bad one, and damaging to the GAA. Good call by HQ.

GAA in square ball u-turn

Moves to change the controversial 'square ball' rule in Gaelic football could commence by the end of this month, it has emerged.

A Central Council motion passed at Congress last April has led to the establishment of a standing committee that will monitor the playing rules on an annual basis.

The establishment of that committee is due to be finalised at the next Central Council meeting in just over two weeks' time.

The committee will have players and managers on board, with the Gaelic Players Association already contacted to propose players as suitable members.

They will have the scope to propose changes to the playing rules at next year's Congress.

Under the terms of the motion passed last April, the standing committee will have to make its proposals known to the October meeting of Central Council.

Counties will have the facility to make proposals to this standing committee ahead of that October meeting.

The controversies over the policing of the 'square ball' have continued all summer, with Kildare exiting the championship under a cloud for the second successive year.

What looked like a perfectly legitimate Tomas O'Connor goal was disallowed early in the second half of last Saturday's All-Ireland quarter-final and almost certainly handed Donegal the initiative.

Ironically, Kildare were one of the few counties to vote in favour of the removal of the 'square ball' rule at the 2010 Congress in Newcastle. A playing rule experiment that allowed players inside the square before the ball had arrived, with the exception of set-pieces, trialled successfully during the 2010 league, but it didn't get sufficient support and provoked even less debate at Congress.

The folly of that decision has been realised all too often over the last 16 months.

The GAA have been tied by a rule which only made it possible to change playing rules every five years, but that was changed at the most recent Congress, providing them with the capacity to move on the 'square ball' issue within the next few weeks.

- Colm Keys

Irish Independent

There will always be referees folks so don't be tempted into the simple arguement of "if we keep abusing refs then we'll lose them"! I've been a referee for the last 10 years, the renumeration is very good at club level and better at county level trust me.

Players get slated for making mistakes or not playing well enough, refs should at the very least answer to the decisions they make in big games, or the GAA should back them properly and bring in Hawk eye (as mentioned by me last year!) and video technology for tight square ball calls! End of controversy!

bald eagle wrote:There will always be referees folks so don't be tempted into the simple arguement of "if we keep abusing refs then we'll lose them"! I've been a referee for the last 10 years, the renumeration is very good at club level and better at county level trust me.

Players get slated for making mistakes or not playing well enough, refs should at the very least answer to the decisions they make in big games, or the GAA should back them properly and bring in Hawk eye (as mentioned by me last year!) and video technology for tight square ball calls! End of controversy!

they do to the referee assessors. I don't think there is another sport in the world where referee's have to answer to the decisions they make in big games in public.

The Puke wrote:

bald eagle wrote:There will always be referees folks so don't be tempted into the simple arguement of "if we keep abusing refs then we'll lose them"! I've been a referee for the last 10 years, the renumeration is very good at club level and better at county level trust me.

Players get slated for making mistakes or not playing well enough, refs should at the very least answer to the decisions they make in big games, or the GAA should back them properly and bring in Hawk eye (as mentioned by me last year!) and video technology for tight square ball calls! End of controversy!

they do to the referee assessors. I don't think there is another sport in the world where referee's have to answer to the decisions they make in big games in public.

But how come ref's aren't getting suspended or still getting big matches?

The Puke wrote:

bald eagle wrote:There will always be referees folks so don't be tempted into the simple arguement of "if we keep abusing refs then we'll lose them"! I've been a referee for the last 10 years, the renumeration is very good at club level and better at county level trust me.

Players get slated for making mistakes or not playing well enough, refs should at the very least answer to the decisions they make in big games, or the GAA should back them properly and bring in Hawk eye (as mentioned by me last year!) and video technology for tight square ball calls! End of controversy!

they do to the referee assessors. I don't think there is another sport in the world where referee's have to answer to the decisions they make in big games in public.

It's about time they did, if not to the public then to the managers of the teams they have refereed a few hours/days after the match!

As for the referees assessors, they don't question you, they talk about decisions that they SAW differently from the stands!

Royal_Girl2k9 wrote:

The Puke wrote:

bald eagle wrote:There will always be referees folks so don't be tempted into the simple arguement of "if we keep abusing refs then we'll lose them"! I've been a referee for the last 10 years, the renumeration is very good at club level and better at county level trust me.

Players get slated for making mistakes or not playing well enough, refs should at the very least answer to the decisions they make in big games, or the GAA should back them properly and bring in Hawk eye (as mentioned by me last year!) and video technology for tight square ball calls! End of controversy!

they do to the referee assessors. I don't think there is another sport in the world where referee's have to answer to the decisions they make in big games in public.

But how come ref's aren't getting suspended or still getting big matches?

because we are all human after all and make mistakes. Should everyone who makes a mistake in their day job be sacked on the spot, or instantly demoted. you have to give people an opportunity to learn from their mistakes as well

The Puke wrote:

Royal_Girl2k9 wrote:

The Puke wrote:

bald eagle wrote:There will always be referees folks so don't be tempted into the simple arguement of "if we keep abusing refs then we'll lose them"! I've been a referee for the last 10 years, the renumeration is very good at club level and better at county level trust me.

Players get slated for making mistakes or not playing well enough, refs should at the very least answer to the decisions they make in big games, or the GAA should back them properly and bring in Hawk eye (as mentioned by me last year!) and video technology for tight square ball calls! End of controversy!

they do to the referee assessors. I don't think there is another sport in the world where referee's have to answer to the decisions they make in big games in public.

But how come ref's aren't getting suspended or still getting big matches?

because we are all human after all and make mistakes. Should everyone who makes a mistake in their day job be sacked on the spot, or instantly demoted. you have to give people an opportunity to learn from their mistakes as well

So if you were continuously making big mistakes in work nothing would happen?

bald eagle wrote:

The Puke wrote:

bald eagle wrote:There will always be referees folks so don't be tempted into the simple arguement of "if we keep abusing refs then we'll lose them"! I've been a referee for the last 10 years, the renumeration is very good at club level and better at county level trust me.

Players get slated for making mistakes or not playing well enough, refs should at the very least answer to the decisions they make in big games, or the GAA should back them properly and bring in Hawk eye (as mentioned by me last year!) and video technology for tight square ball calls! End of controversy!

they do to the referee assessors. I don't think there is another sport in the world where referee's have to answer to the decisions they make in big games in public.

It's about time they did, if not to the public then to the managers of the teams they have refereed a few hours/days after the match!

As for the referees assessors, they don't question you, they talk about decisions that they SAW differently from the stands!

Referees for the most part are willing to listen or managers complaints after a game and explain their decisions as long as the manager acts in a calm and coherant manner.

Royal_Girl2k9 wrote:

The Puke wrote:

Royal_Girl2k9 wrote:

The Puke wrote:

bald eagle wrote:There will always be referees folks so don't be tempted into the simple arguement of "if we keep abusing refs then we'll lose them"! I've been a referee for the last 10 years, the renumeration is very good at club level and better at county level trust me.

Players get slated for making mistakes or not playing well enough, refs should at the very least answer to the decisions they make in big games, or the GAA should back them properly and bring in Hawk eye (as mentioned by me last year!) and video technology for tight square ball calls! End of controversy!

they do to the referee assessors. I don't think there is another sport in the world where referee's have to answer to the decisions they make in big games in public.

But how come ref's aren't getting suspended or still getting big matches?

because we are all human after all and make mistakes. Should everyone who makes a mistake in their day job be sacked on the spot, or instantly demoted. you have to give people an opportunity to learn from their mistakes as well

So if you were continuously making big mistakes in work nothing would happen?

What ref has continually made big mistakes and been rewarded with big games?

Fooking referees appreciation society at play here ..... Masterson spoke in the heat of battle - he was still in his gear. Some latitude should be allowed for that. Its not like he physically attacked the ref. Given the circumstances I can fully sympathise with his comments and emotions.

Definately not from my experiences in the dug out has this ever happened, nor from my experiences as a player for club and county which is the main reason that when i'm refereeing i explain every decision i make so the players and mentors know what i have or have not seen!

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Fooking referees appreciation society at play here ..... Masterson spoke in the heat of battle - he was still in his gear. Some latitude should be allowed for that. Its not like he physically attacked the ref. Given the circumstances I can fully sympathise with his comments and emotions.

I have no problem with him being pissed off with a 50/50 decision to go against him but to come out and say

"The whole country knows that he is the world's worst referee and he still gets to referee GAA matches. The whole country knows about it. Ye know it and we know it.
It is unbelievable just how he can make a decision like that......"

Is well wide of the mark and there is no need to cast aspersions at the ref like that. If Joe Brolly or Pat Spillane came out after the leinster final and said Masterson cost Wexford the match and that he was the worst keeper in the country and the whole country knew it they would have been lambasted for being completely over the top and rightly so


As I have said it was one 50/50 decision that went against Wexford, that is sport, it could have went either way. If the ref had a nightmare and rode Wexford from start to finish i might have more sympathy for Masterson but Wexford's inability to clse out the game and not the ref giving Limerick the benefit of the doubt on one marginal call was the losing of the game for them

Yes I am sure Masterson carefully thought out all those things in the 2 minutes he had to digest his heartbreak before having a microphone thrust in front of him.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Yes I am sure Masterson carefully thought out all those things in the 2 minutes he had to digest his heartbreak before having a microphone thrust in front of him.

Well then he shouldn't have given the interview. He was out of line and should apologise

The Puke wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Yes I am sure Masterson carefully thought out all those things in the 2 minutes he had to digest his heartbreak before having a microphone thrust in front of him.

Well then he shouldn't have given the interview. He was out of line and should apologise

Which he has said he will do when asked so politely to by the GAA!

The Puke wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Yes I am sure Masterson carefully thought out all those things in the 2 minutes he had to digest his heartbreak before having a microphone thrust in front of him.

Well then he shouldn't have given the interview. He was out of line and should apologise

I'm sure RTE knew what they were at. Easy to sit and judge people in a detached fashion and long after the dust settles. Rap on knuckles would be sufficient.

bald eagle wrote:

The Puke wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Yes I am sure Masterson carefully thought out all those things in the 2 minutes he had to digest his heartbreak before having a microphone thrust in front of him.

Well then he shouldn't have given the interview. He was out of line and should apologise

Which he has said he will do when asked so politely to by the GAA!

& quite rightly so

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

The Puke wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Yes I am sure Masterson carefully thought out all those things in the 2 minutes he had to digest his heartbreak before having a microphone thrust in front of him.

Well then he shouldn't have given the interview. He was out of line and should apologise

I'm sure RTE knew what they were at. Easy to sit and judge people in a detached fashion and long after the dust settles. Rap on knuckles would be sufficient.

It is easy say a wrap on the knuckles, but this in essense what it is. They are right to take Masterson to task over this, and once he apologises he will get away with it. Openly criticising officials in any sport can't be let go without some sort of follow up, whether you agree with it or not. Davy Fitz also received a similar ban of 8 weeks back in 2004 when he made similar criticisms of a match official after a Fitzgibbon cup match sp the precident is there