We lambaste referee's for the good bad and everything in between. But are these brave men at this point in time just fish in a barrel and essentially being let down by the rules and the GAA themselves?
I empathize with officials but I also admit through my playing days I have torn shreds out of them too and stood in the terrace and roared profanities at the top of my voice.
The reality of it is how can one man cover two of the fastest games on grass over an area 130x85m containing 30 players? There is no aids for a referee, even the most easily implemented and logical step to introduce a stadium clock still goes by the wayside. There is no TMO and usually four of the seven officials aren't even qualified to implement the rules of game (Umpires) and a fifth (4th Official) has nothing to do with game itself.
Now that said I do think referees are over protected by the powers that be. There comes a point when officials must be made accountable for decisions taken and the thought process documented . For example how many fouls are addressed in a game in comparison to how many red cards are issued. I dont know the figures but I would say in the region of 1/40. If a referee is making one sending off call for every forty calls he simply has to...has to get it correct.
The next issue is the clearly evident personal opinion of officials. The differences between officials can be vast in terms of how they implement the rules. This is not something that can ironed out, its in their blood from a young age and often stems from where they come from.
So what about grouping officials together? These teams would remain in place throughout the year and based on group performances would be chosen for the bigger games later in the year. I believe that this system would familiarize certain tendencies to teams of officials not just individuals. Sure certain teams will be become known for tight referring and others for "letting it flow" but the main thing is these officials will build up rapport and a trust that will ultimately help them with bigger calls. The tendencies of these teams will be well published and I think counties and managers will be much happier and respecting knowing team x does this and team y does that etc.