Replying To ForeverBlue2: "The GAA are hardly going to want them miked up if it means them trying to explain some of their stupid decisions…. egg on face and all that.. not hard to work out…. It's a system that works very well in rugby and American football where the spectators know exactly why a decision was made… The problem in the GAA is a lot of times the referee can't explain the decision…."
Go follow your local rugby then or buy a whistle and Don the Black Jersey
Replying To Seeking_silver: "John O'Halloran from limerick was miked up for a Kerry club semi final (i think) last Sunday on TG4. A game ran by the GAA. I don't see too many of you on commenting on the fine job he did. Seems like this forum is very typical social media where faceless people just like to criticise."
Was the Kerry final and he did a good job. The officiating team in Wexfords senior final today were excellent also.
Replying To Claretandblue: "Attendances at GAA matches nationally versus attendances at club rugby matches is one measure. There are 47 GAA clubs in Westmeath, one or two rugby clubs, likewise in every county, participating rates another measure."
we were talking about incidents involving match officials and abuse etc. even taking into account the number of clubs in each and looking at it proportionally there is way more incidents in the GAA of ref abuse/attacks etc
I started this thread and it was in no way aimed at having a go at referees. There is a few jobs i wouldn't do for love or money and this is certainly one of them. I'm a pretty mild mannered person but I still get caught up in the moment at matches and roar at the ref!!
I do think there are often technical rules, things we cannot see from the sideline etc and because we cannot see it we invariable think the ref is off his head. Ref Mic and a bit of transparency would certainly help improve respect for the refs who by and large do a good job. That is not to say there isn't a few cowboys (like there is in every walk of life) but it may help to weed them out also.
Potentially there is a commercial element to this. Ear pieces could be sold at games giving fans access to the ref mic. It would definitely be a hit at the start but personally I think it might be a bit of a fad and people will stop paying quick enough unless the ear pieces included other stuff like in stadium radio etc not neccessarily a very hard thing to do as you already have music etc being played out of the 100 year old speakers at most grounds .....so someone is already at it in another guise.
Honestly I think it would be a good thing. The genuine fan is often wondering what the call was for or missed it. The ones who bash the ref will do it anyway. Also the ref would be encouraged in giving a proper explanation to the player. Some do anyway but others can be heard shouting shut up and get on with it. Also it will pick up the player if abusing the ref. All in all not going to change the game drastically but a step forward that does not have too many negatives.