Secretary Handy speaks out against referee abuse ahead of Laois county convention 2022
Handy speaks out against referee abuse ahead of Laois county convention 2022
In his secretaries address, Runai Niall Handy highlighted key moments and points of note from the year ahead of the 2022 Laois County convention. Handy ran down through a list of achievements and successes from all county teams competing in 2022. The Secretary had high praise for the minor hurling team, especially who reached an All-Ireland quarter-final before eventually being knocked out by Offally
“Further to the disappointing results of the previous two years, where there was a greater expectation from the panels involved, our management compiled a panel of players with a hope that we would be at least competitive. The commitment, preparation and coaching of this panel was excellent and performances in an endless amount of challenge games were encouraging.” said Handy.
Handy also commended the groundsmen of O’Moore park in his address stating that the ground had returned a condition where it is among the top pitches in Ireland after a few years of surface difficulty.
“As many of you are aware, we have experienced extensive problems with our playing surface in O’Moore Park over the past two years. Thankfully due to an in tensive maintenance programme, under the stewardship of our Groundsman Colm McEvoy and recommendations provided by James Healy, the surface has improved dramatically and is now almost back to a satisfactory condition. The GAA National Pitch Workgroup recently selected the O’Moore Park pitch and shortlisted it as one of the top six county grounds in Ireland this season based upon independently verified referee assessments made over the playing season”.
The Secretary of Laois GAA spoke out strongly against abusive behavior towards referees and referenced an incident where he was given abuse himself during the year.
“I admit, referees do make mistakes, but so do players, managers, and club officers, we all do. They do not do so deliberately, they call it as they see it, and in real-time, often in high-pressure situations and under intense scrutiny. But let’s be honest, considering the environment, referees do get things right time after time. Occasionally they do not, but the challenge for us all is to learn from their mistakes rather than to be defined by them.” said Handy
“Unfortunately, during the year several referees received unwarranted abuse which had a profound effect on some of the people concerned and their colleagues. There is little understanding from players, mentors, or supporters of the challenges of split-second on-field decision-making. I had occasion to experience such abuse this year from a player and mentor during and after games, and let me tell you it wasn’t nice”.
Handy also acknowledged and congratulated recently retired referee Maurice Deegan on an enjoyable and successful refereeing career
“I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge Maurice Deegan on his retirement from Inter-County refereeing and I think when discussing the subject of recruiting new Referees, it is worth noting the enjoyment that Maurice has achieved throughout his refereeing career, taking charge of three All Ireland Football Finals and having also officiated nearly every other major final as well. It gives me great pleasure in the knowledge that I played some small part in that recruitment process many years ago. Our congratulations to Maurice on a wonderful Inter-County career.”