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GAA President Larry McCarthy has said recent attacks on referees are 'utterly unacceptable' and has promised a 'culture change'

GAA president wants change to All-Ireland club championships to make it fair for all counties. (Photo By Philip Fitzpatrick/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

THE PRESIDENT OF THE GAA Larry McCarthy has said that the recent assault on referees is 'utterly unacceptable' and has promised a 'culture change'

Over the last few months, a number of match officials have been attacked on the pitch. One ref was taken to hospital in Roscommon after an incident, the same thing happened in Wexford in another minor game.

Both referees have recovered from their attacks. The people in question have received strong bans for their actions.

This week, the GAA launched their own 'Respect the Ref' Campaign to help stop the abuse that referees get. Support systems and promoting respect for match officials are some of the key components of the new campaign.

McCarthy speaking at the event said: "What has happened in the last couple of weeks is absolutely and utterly unacceptable."

President Larry McCarthy and referees David Coldrick and Colm Lyons told @MartyM_RTE that they hope the culture of abuse against officials in the #GAA can change as they launched 'Respect the Referee Day' pic.twitter.com/lwlAJX0xbb

— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) October 13, 2022

"The respect for referees and working with referees and recruiting of referees has been part of the strategic plan since we launched it last week and this will give it an impetus to start."

A national Respect the Referee Day will take place across the weekend of 22nd and 23rd of October

McCarthy has promised to all he can to change the culture in the GAA despite the challenges the campaign will face

"It is extremely difficult and it's a long, slow process of changing culture. It’s not going to be instantaneous. "Supporting the referee, disciplinary processes, putting out the messages we’re going to be putting out next week are all part and parcel of it.

"But this is only a once-off. This is the start. We have to keep going and do it."

He also added that suspensions overturned on technicalities for players deemed to have comitted an offence must be looked at going forward

“It can, I would argue, be quite disheartening to see people who have been disciplined have their punishments reduced or even dismissed on the most minute or infinitesimal technicality,” he said.

“We need, in my view, to adopt the John Mullane mantra – ‘where you do the crime, you do the time.’

“Last spring, we launched a five-year strategic plan, and referee recruitment and retention and support was one of its central pillars. And indeed at the press conference that day, when I was asked what was the important element of that, I referred to the fact that there was support for referees, he said

“This month we launched a review of several key areas that you’re going to hear about, that include penalties for infractions against match officials, how these are handled within the disciplinary process, with an aim to bringing motions to Congress and a full review of the ‘Give Respect, Get Respect’ initiative.

“But today is only one small step. It’s one small step in changing a culture – a culture where negative criticism and inflammatory language have all too often been accepted - reversing what one commentator has called a corrosive assault on civility.

“Culture changes come slowly, and anybody who suggests otherwise does not understand either the culture or change in an organisation such as this. But it is a change we as an association are committed to, and we will continue to create an environment where all of our members are valued and respected, particularly our referees.”