GAA Director General, Tom Ryan, has called for a culture of respect for match officials to be reinforced.

Writing in his Annual Report for 2022 which can be downloaded at the bottom of this article, Ryan admitted that unwarranted abuse of match officials is having a profound impact on them, their families, and colleagues:

He said: “The difficulties for referees and for match officials are well documented and well understood. But progressing their cause continues to prove difficult, resulting in an issue for the entire Association. Without the referee there is no match. And just because that is a cliché doesn’t mean it’s any less true.

“Our challenges are twofold: We must build and reinforce a culture of respect for match officials; and we have to consistently attract and recruit new referees in sufficient numbers to match the pace of development of our games. The two challenges are inextricably linked. Referees make mistakes. So do players, managers, officers - all of us.

“They do not do so deliberately, they call it as they see it, and in real time, in high-pressure situations, and under intense scrutiny. And remarkably, considering the environment, referees get things right time after time. Occasionally they do not, but the challenge then is (for all of us) to learn from their mistakes rather than to be defined by them.

“We don’t make things easy. Each time the playing rules are changed at Congress our referees are presented with major complications. Last year’s changes certainly increased the attention on refereeing performances. No referee will ever advocate for leaving the rules alone in the cause of an easy life.

“The games change and so the rules must too. But the least we can do is make sure the referee perspective is represented in such discussions and that the rules remain fit for purpose – for officials as well as players.

“During the year several referees received unwarranted abuse which had a profound effect on the people concerned, on their families and also on their colleagues. There is little understanding from the general public of the challenges of split second onfield decision making. We spectators, supporters, and media commentators must be very conscious of the language we use when criticising from afar.

“As befits the calibre of person they are, our match officials unfailingly take responsibility for the decisions they make - good and bad. As indeed they should. They operate in a very structured regime where they are held accountable by Independent Assessors, by the Referee Development Committee, by the Appointments Committee, and indeed their peers. But they should not have to take abuse.”