Hurling crackdown: Players will have to be careful as refs issues flurry of red cards

Referees were as keen as players to lay down a marker for their championship places at the weekend.

With a championship panel of a dozen or so referees to be selected from a league panel in excess of 30, refs are quicker to blow the whistle in springtime before allowing play to flow in the height of summer.

As recently retired inter-county whistler John Keenan said: “Players want to play championship, referees want to referee championship.” 

So when word emerged of a midweek meeting in which officials were directed to clamp down on head-high fouls, immediate repercussions were certain.

But no one predicted the extent of the controversy as a remarkable eight red cards were flashed in the weekend’s three Division 1A games. Six of those involved head contact.

Last week, Tony Kelly, Mike Casey, and Cian Kenny were lucky to avoid sanctions as Limerick were the only top-tier county to receive a red card. This week, they were the only county to avoid one.

These crackdowns tend to come in waves. On the opening weekend of the 2019 league, Tony Kelly was sent off for a high challenge on Pádraic Maher and received widespread sympathy for the perceived harsh punishment.

RECKLESS

Such campaigns commonly centre around thrown passes or overcarrying but when it comes to head contact, the enforcement should be sustained to deter reckless tackles.

The GAA’s guidelines emphasise how more than 90% of concussions occur without a loss of consciousness and can be caused by an impact to the player’s head or body.

Shane O’Donnell’s experience highlighted the dangers to a broader audience. The Hurler of the Year teetered on the brink of retiring in 2021 due to the ill effects of a concussion, which rendered him unable to return to work for six weeks.

At the same time, referees have to distinguish those major collisions with the incidental contact that can occur from genuine tackle attempts.

Derek Lyng and Liam Cahill were critical of the pressure placed on referees and Brian Lohan blasted the lack of communication as each manager queried their teams’ red cards.

“Officials coming down hard on the refs because they’re not giving red cards and yellow cards is not good enough in my opinion,” said Lyng. The Kilkenny boss called for referees to be backed to make more “common sense” decisions.

“There’s a lot of pressure on these referees in the current environment. It's a job that I wouldn't like to be doing at the moment,” said Cahill, who noted the greater conditioning of modern players and the full commitment required for every tackle.

“If they're going to change the way the game is refereed, the least you could do is tell us,” said Lohan. “To get all this information second-hand or third-hand and have two players sent off as a result of it is just not good enough.” 

The Cork backroom team noted the four reds issued at Nowlan Park in the hour before their throw-in and sought out clarification from Liam Gordon pre-match.

“He said it would just be as normal,” said Pat Ryan. “There’s a duty of care on each player to look after it and that’s the way we should be going.” 

Ironically, the tackle which most harmed an opponent this weekend, Conor Cooney’s dangerous hit to the head of Mike Casey, was only penalised with a yellow card by James Owens. Those forceful frontal tackles should always merit straight reds. And especially so when players are left exposed as they rise the sliotar.

In Kilkenny, David Blanchfield’s retaliatory swing was a correct sending-off and Jordan Molloy’s second yellow was appropriate for connecting with the helmet as he attempted a hook.

Mikey Carey made careless but negligible contact with Darragh McCarthy and should’ve received a second yellow rather than a straight red and the consequent suspension.

RECALLED

Alan Tynan’s glancing contact was reminiscent of Richie Hogan’s infamous red against Cathal Barrett in the 2019 All-Ireland final. Tynan had produced a perfect shoulder five minutes earlier but when you’re guessing a player’s movements to land that big hit, it can leave you exposed for such borderline calls. Back in '19, Hogan’s appeal to overturn his suspension was ultimately rejected.

In Ennis, Peter Duggan’s high arm was strong but who knows how many reds we’d have seen if each tackle of that nature was consistently punished.

The other dismissals weren’t head-contact related. While Cork’s Cormac O’Brien would be within his rights to appeal, David Fitzgerald’s low blow could yet put his participation in that Munster rematch in doubt.

If the referee’s report classifies it as a strike with the hurley, a minimum two-match penalty would apply.