Horgan calls for more supports for Referees

By Shane Brophy

Leading hurling referee Fergal Horgan has called on more supports to be put in place to retain existing referees, as well as attracting new ones to Gaelic Games.

The Knockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickhams clubman, who has refereed three of the last five All-Ireland senior hurling finals, is critical of the lack of back-ups in place for current referees, which he feels has led to man giving up officiating in recent times.

“Refereeing local at club level in Tipperary, unless you are really into it, you don’t get that much support really,” he revealed.

“It’s only when you get onto the Munster panel or the National panel that you start to see the supports kicking in.

“There is not enough put into refereeing at the grassroots really. To ask me if you wanted my son to go refereeing in the morning, the answer would be, I don’t know!

“I just don’t think there is enough support there for young referees to come in and take up the whistle.”

Horgan is calling for a mentoring programme to be put in place for all current and future referees where they can have the support structures to deal with any difficulties they have.

“I feel there should be a mechanism there for when young referees start off,” Horgan suggested.

“They should be mentored by an experienced referee or a former referee. That is the only way that you will keep younger referees involved and improve them.

“But all these things cost a few pound in mileage, or a pass for a year for a mentor, that it all that would be required, but it needs to be done.”

Refereeing numbers in the county are approaching a critical mass, which has led to matches in West and South Tipperary being postponed in recent weeks because there was no referee available.

“We had 127 or 128 active referees in the county pre-Covid, it is down to around 80 now,” Horgan revealed.

“We lost thirty or forty and they realised the time they were giving to the game and they realised it was time they wouldn’t get back and some haven’t come back refereeing.

“We had a match called off recently in West Tipperary in under 17 as we had no one to do it. I’m afraid that is going to happen a lot more in the coming years, unless the powers that be get their finger out and promote refereeing in a more positive way.”

Just as in 2009 when Fergal Horgan had to undertake his first refereeing course outside the county, no such course took place again in Tipperary in 2021 because of lack of interest, and Horgan believes the county board are not going the right way about attracting aspiring referees to take up the whistle.

“I wouldn’t force anyone that doesn’t want to do it themselves,” Horgan said.

“I was involved in trying to promote and go around and look for referees, that is not the way forward. A person has to come to you and say, how do I go about refereeing? That is the person to hold on to.

“I think if you have played the game, you have a huge advantage coming in. More former players should take up the whistle and it would improve the standard of refereeing nationally which is an issue at the moment, good referees are not there at national level, never mind in Tipperary.”