Referees

[rovers100%]

can anyone see the standard of refereeing improving because for me its getting worse and i cant think of one good ref in the league. i dont know how many times this season i have wanted to walk out of a ground in frustration at the decisions of the lunatics on the field with the whistle in thier mouths. is it gona be the same every year and this is what the future holds for us fans. is you were a neutral you would go to an eircom league match to watch the refs because at 15 euro its cheaper than going to a tommy tiernan gig and twice as funny. they say before kick off every game that foul and abusive language will not be tolerated but if ya wanna stop the bad language train the refs how to do their jobs properly.

[Rovers1]

I dont think it's ever going to change. Not in the League of Ireland.

[CF1989]

really no point talking about them. they're never ever going to change. they are the worst referee's in the world surely

[SligoBrewer]

That Belgian guy in the Europa League was such a breath of fresh air it was unreal.

[rovers100%]

anyone wanna chip in for his airfare and bring him back !!! i would nearly carry him back if it got rid of our muppets

[sligofan4ever]

McKeon is no better, if not worse, than Richie Winter. I fear for the standard of referee's for one reason.

Former LoI referees are monitering the current refs, a fe wyears down the line McKeon,Winter,Buttimer and all the other referees in this league will have that job :( Such a terrible referee, one of the worst decisions cost us after one of their players (Barrett I think) clearly handled the ball before being tackled while many tackles Shams players went in with, they some how go the free-kick. Im absolutly sick of refs in this league but it dosent want to make me walk like rovers100% says, just insult the referee from the stands and encourage the lads rather than letting them get too you. That little dwarf of a linesman running up and down the line on the homeside must've forgotten he had a flag in his hand too, no better than the referee

[rovers100%]

its actually hard picking who is the worst ref now to be honest. a poll of worst ref would be interesting on the forum. winters and mckeon would have to be the top 2 with buttimer not far behind

[Dixie Dean]

If the FAI are serious about improving the league then they should pay to bring in some good refs from abroad. We are talking about refs after the game way too often.

[Redkenrover]

McKeon is no better, if not worse, than Richie Winter. I fear for the standard of referee's for one reason.

Former LoI referees are monitering the current refs, a fe wyears down the line McKeon,Winter,Buttimer and all the other referees in this league will have that job :( Such a terrible referee, one of the worst decisions cost us after one of their players (Barrett I think) clearly handled the ball before being tackled while many tackles Shams players went in with, they some how go the free-kick. Im absolutly sick of refs in this league but it dosent want to make me walk like rovers100% says, just insult the referee from the stands and encourage the lads rather than letting them get too you. That little dwarf of a linesman running up and down the line on the homeside must've forgotten he had a flag in his hand too, no better than the referee

I dont think rovers100% is suddenly going to sprint out of the showgrounds, but I can see where he is coming from. Attended the game last night with a first timer to the showgrounds, and he couldn't believe how bad the referee was and the sad thing is that this now the norm rather that the exception.
Its ok to say we would never walk out of the game because of it, but do you think this is going to attract more people to games? By that I mean someone who is there for the first time that you are trying to get going on a regular basis and they see a game destroyed by referees decisions. The FAI are trying to get more people in the gate, they would want to sort out the standard of officials as a priority, disgusted with last night.
Whatever happened to the discussion MNS promised us on refereeing a while back?

[mint sauce]

disgusted with last night.
Whatever happened to the discussion MNS promised us on refereeing a while back?

tbh, cant see them discussing them anytime soon, sligo them selfs are lucky to get many positive discussions (but thats for another thread), cant see them discussing how a ref cost us a game as well

i know we're in a dog fight at the moment and its all to easy to blame the ref, but ffs, have been to far to many games lately were we have been the dominate side in the game only for the man in the middle to mess it up for us, far to many descisions going against us, getting very little our selfs, why, is it because we're near the bottom of the table, is it because of the size of our club, our location, is it because cookie has one or two discusions with the 4th officall and now the refs our out for us, what ever it is, how about giving us a break, show some consistancy, and how aout the FAI get its refering standards together

to borrow a pharse from a famous man


“The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they do not know the game." - Bill Shankly

in fairness though, i dont even think some of our refs know the rules either

:(

[Blowin_Rover]

The standard of Refs in the league of Ireland is rubbish,easy to say that its the same for both teams playing but I think its because we are in a Dogfight the officials are getting called into question,all we ask for is a fair and unbiased official to only get involved when neccessary,too many refs have thier own agenda and are unable to play any form of advantage,and as for the ball being placed a millimetre from where the free was given is a joke....lose the ego and let the game flow

[Rovers Maniac]

Sure they're a joke, look at the craic with Winters at that international game out in Bray a few weeks ago when the Turks walked off the pitch, he did not even know the rules as to what to do next. They get token games abroad probably its mandatory to give them that amount of games. But last night i don't think the ref was bad that result suited the league as the whole week will be positive news in regards to the league and the FAI do love their positive PR.

[bigredtruck]

It's the players i feel sory for in games like last nights, just look at the yellow card conor got he stays strong in a tussle for the ball gets fouled and has a free given against him, how can you not react in the way he did, and he is the one who suffers if he builds up yellows and gets suspended, its plain and simple dublin refs should not ref dublin teams, even the muck savages in the gaa dont allow it to happen,

[prodsc]

Have people emailed MNS to ask them to have a look. I know they overlook a lot of emails but you gotta try to get a response..

(As for the FAI, they don't even reply properly, you get a thank you reply from Reception.)

Of course, maybe the camera didn't pick it up!!

[Redie]

If the FAI are serious about improving the league then they should pay to bring in some good refs from abroad. We are talking about refs after the game way too often.

They used to bring them over from England in the forties and fifties - actually when Dixie Dean was playing for us.

Just wondering does anyone know how much League of Ireland Refs get for a match?

[CF1989]

over a hundred each anyway

[Knappagh Red]

They will never change, Billy Hamilton got so frustrated with bad referees that he gave up managing Limerick in the late 80's . Anyone over thirty will remember the worst ref of all time Wilfred Wallace, who now attends games as a referees' assessor. It's all cronyism in the FAI, always was, always will be.

[CF1989]

the referee's assesors are ex refs themselves, it should be ex players/managers etc. you cant be assesing your friends performance. naturally your not going to give him a bad report

[Redie]

They will never change, Billy Sinclair got so frustrated with bad referees that he gave up managing Limerick in the late 80's . Anyone over thirty will remember the worst ref of all time Wilfred Wallace, who now attends games as a referees' assessor. It's all cronyism in the FAI, always was, always will be.

Good old Wilfred. One sure thing with him was that you'd get value for money, he rarely played less that 10 minutes injury time and I think in one match he disallowed 4 goals, all scored by us.:)

[Brian Boru]

Good one Knappagh Red. Wilfred Wallace a blast from the past. I can still hear the crowd screaming abuse at him. Its frightening to think hes an assessor.

[avvenalaf]

Good one Knappagh Red. Wilfred Wallace a blast from the past. I can still hear the crowd screaming abuse at him. Its frightening to think hes an assessor.

Ah, Wilfred - the only referee I ever saw who was booed onto the pitch.

[mint sauce]

as suspected, very little talk about the ref on MNS, watching the highlights has just made me mad again

:mad:

[oldrover]

Below is email I had sent to MNS...having watched the programme would now add that ONeill's comments were adisgrace

Dear Con

As a Sligo Rovers supporter of over 40 years my faith is finally weakening, not I might immediately add in the bit o’ red but in what passes for refereeing . For quite some time I was content to put it down to incompetence. Having witnessed the performance of the man in the middle (from Dublin!!)at the Rovers v Shams game on Saturday I am beginning to believe Stephen Kenny is right.

A penalty and a blatantly wrong call on a corner hands the match to a team the powers that be would wish to see dominate the league. Maybe Dublin refs just subliminally favour their local teams or maybe there is something more to it in a league where some teams have grounds provided by county councils and others by the FAI and where FAI budgeting rules are applied in an apparent uneven manner. It raises the question of fairness and indeed conflict of interests

The reality is that, relative to population, support for the league is far greater outside of Dublin but continued unfairness will eventually kill off that enthusiasm. What about a level playing pitch.

[Redkenrover]

as suspected, very little talk about the ref on MNS, watching the highlights has just made me mad again

:mad:

Ya, once again MNS fudged the issue, "camera was on the wrong side" I appreciate that it is difficult to see all the action with one camera but there was more time spent on Johnny McDonnell's new appointment and interview than on the main talking points in the match, the main thing to come out of it was the game between Shams and Bohs at the weekend.

[mint sauce]

great email mate, but at times i think its not just the refs are in favour of dublin sides, sometimes i think MNS are as well

like the ref on saturday night, they were giving us nothing

i have only been following sligo a few seasons, and i have been finding in really disheartning my self this season with the amount of desisions that have been going against us

[rovers100%]

i emailed too so hopefully mns will take notice Hi Con, i am emailing you due to the continuing great offer the loi have given me as a football supporter throughout the year. At 15 euro for a loi game it is superb value considering not only do i get to see a football match i also get a free 90 minutes of stand up comedy from the man in the middle of the pitch with the whistle !!! its cheaper then going to a tommy tiernan gig and twice as funny. Con througout the year i have been bemused with the decisions i have witnessed from our referees. I have never seen such ineptness from so called professionals in my life. week in week out i feel like leaving the ground due to the games being ruined by decisions that would confuse the great einstein himself. I have wrote to alan kelly snr in the fai on previous occasions and have got a positive responce and even got an invite to fai hq to meet him to go over he process of refereeing reviews. A fantastic offer which i shall take up but the refereeing has been poor for years now and if it has not be fixed by now i fear it never will. the people reviewing the refs were poor refs themselves and i know this as the one allocated in our region was so bad if ya look up bad in the dictionary you will find his name. !!!There is a recession in the country con and i feel my 15 euro is cheated off me every time i follow my club be it home or away. Please please please can we have a discussion on your show because im sure the former players and managers beside you in all honesty if the had to put their hands on their hearts would agree its gone on for years and it does not look like it will improve. thank you con, i have declined from naming my club or the refs and referees acessors as i want an unbiased view from yourself. Hopefully we will see a discussion on your show soon but i fear it will take a few bad decisions against shams or bohs before it will be highlighted !!!