'YOU'D WANT TO BE A VERY BRAVE PERSON TO BE A HURLING REFEREE'

DÓNAL ÓG CUSACK has called for more support for hurling referees from umpires and linesmen. 

Speaking on The Sunday Game last night, the former Cork goalkeeper highlighted several incidents from the Tipperary v Waterford and Galway v Wexford games over the weekend.

“You’d want to be a very brave person to be a hurling referee,” Cusack said.

“But because of the challenges they have — there’s so much going on — they need their umpires on the ball, which they’re not in general, and also their linesmen helping them, and very often, they’re not doing that either.”

The three-time All-Ireland winner referenced a “bizarre incident” where James Owens ran across the face of goal as a penalty was being struck, and another where the umpires were split on a Wexford effort. 

He also criticised a messy restart after half time at Wexford Park, and the “wrong decision” of Conor Cooney being shown a yellow card in the other game.

“We don’t think referees are getting the help from their umpires and linesmen,” Cusack said as the clips were being played. 

“Human error can happen, mistakes can happen but the onus and the burden of responsibility shouldn’t be just on the referee. It’s about the team of officials,” former Wexford camogie star Ursula Jacob added.

“A management team works together, a group of players work together, so a team of officials have to do the same. That’s just to support the referee to make the best decisions possible.”

2024-05-06T11:24:27Z dg43tfdfdgfd