Referees Stood Down

[JC_GUFC]

"The Referees Committee, at its meeting of Thursday 15th May 2008, noted that two of the Elite Referees have been stood down from refereeing at eircom League of Ireland level following reports from the Referee Observers who attended their games last weekend.



The referees concerned will miss the next five series of games and will be subject to the existing process which supports referees whose performances do not meet the required standards."

[DmanDmythDledge]

Very good development, about time it was introduced.

[harps1954]

Why don't they name the referees though. When they are listing the fines/suspensions handed out to clubs, they announce everything.

[The Lilywhites]

Would guess it's Damien Hancock (who did Dundalk v Shels) and Paul Tuite (who did Bray v Drogs).

Hancock was down to ref the Harps v Rovers game tonight, so we shall see.

[holidaysong]

Good news, I agree that they should be named and shamed however. Does 'elite referee' mean they were Premier Division only or is it not too much to hope that one of them will be Damien Hancock after his performance at Oriel Park?

[forza rovers]

plese let it be hugo whorskey.

[The Lilywhites]

plese let it be hugo whorskey.

He's down to ref us in Monaghan tonight, so, again, we shall see.

[forza rovers]

He's down to ref us in Monaghan tonight, so, again, we shall see.all he wants to do is send people off.

[The Lilywhites]

all he wants to do is send people off.

We got enough of that last week from Hancock :(

[forza rovers]

We got enough of that last week from Hancock :(so did we off hanney

[Buile Shuibhne]

It's Hanney & Tuite according to:

http://www.eleven-a-side.com/eircomleague/news.asp?n=32295


I'd attribute this initiative to MNS highlighting and publicising the recent referring debacles.

The Referees Cmttee and the FAI were forced into taking action.

[sligoman]

Delighted for Hanney, well deserved and good to see the refs no longer seem to be untouchable.

[The Lilywhites]

Hancock should have got the bullet too. Harps and Rovers fans should have fun watching him tonight!

[Sam_Heggy]

Hancock should have got the bullet too. Harps and Rovers fans should have fun watching him tonight!


Yeah it shoud be interesting alright :(

[thischarmingman]

Well every one of them will be on their toes tonight so if the standard of refereeing is poor, we'll know it's because the referees are crap full stop

[holidaysong]

An absolute joke that Hancock didn't get punished too. Apart from the handball on the line, he was far worse than anything I seen on MNS.

Suspended 'following reports from the Referee Observers' - yeah sure, more like following the ridiculing from MNS. If the Dundalk - Shels highlights had made it to the TV, you can be sure Hancock would have been for the chop too.

[LeixlipRed]

How can Hancock go through the scenario of double booking someone and not sending them off twice and not be punished? That's farcical.

[Buile Shuibhne]

How can Hancock go through the scenario of double booking someone and not sending them off twice and not be punished? That's farcical.


It wasn't shown and ridiculed on MNS

It happened in the anonimity of the First Division

[Réiteoir]

It's Hanney & Tuite according to:

http://www.eleven-a-side.com/eircomleague/news.asp?n=32295


I'd attribute this initiative to MNS highlighting and publicising the recent referring debacles.

The Referees Cmttee and the FAI were forced into taking action.

Nah - this is one of the conditions laid down by UEFA in the Refereeing Devleopment Plan that's just been introduced - transparency and accountability.

And the term "Elite Referee" is the equivalent of the "Select Group" in England. The referees on the Elite Group would do the majority of Prem games and maybe drop down to a First Division fixture once in a while.

I'd say the rest of the officials on the eL list would be "National List", then "School of Excellence" for those being trained to come onto the League, then you have the grassroots "Senior League Officials" (who do the LSL) and "Amateur League Referees" who cover all other games.

[sfc red]

It wasn't shown and ridiculed on MNS

It happened in the anonimity of the First Division


Exactly. Very much doubt there were Observers even at those games. I reckon they were both punished solely on footage seen on MNS

[superfrank]

And the term "Elite Referee" is the equivalent of the "Select Group" in England. The referees on the Elite Group would do the majority of Prem games and maybe drop down to a First Division fixture once in a while.
But Hancock does plenty of top level matches, big ones too, surely he's in the Elite group?

[Buile Shuibhne]

Nah - this is one of the conditions laid down by UEFA in the Refereeing Devleopment Plan that's just been introduced - transparency and accountability.


I don't think so.

There were other very bad refereeing decisions earlier in the season and we had no 'transparency and accountability' then.

Imho - it's a reaction to the cumulative airing it got on MNS. Where's the 'transparency and accountability' on Hancock in Dundalk Vs Shels last Friday?
Does the UEFA Refereeing Devleopment Plan extend to the First Division?

[Macy]

Does the UEFA Refereeing Devleopment Plan extend to the First Division?
There's be no feckin refs left, the standard is so poor.

[razor]

It's Hanney & Tuite according to:
Hanney had to go, twas terrible stuff.

[The Lilywhites]

Exactly. Very much doubt there were Observers even at those games. I reckon they were both punished solely on footage seen on MNS

There was an observer at the Dundalk game, and, apparently, he was none too happy with Hancock's performance. But because it was in the First Division and nobody outside of Oriel saw it, it has obviously been brushed under the carpet seeing as he's reffing a Premier game tonight. Tuite and Hanney were obviously only punished as they were embarrassed on national TV.

[CharlesThompson]

How long will it be before they decide to go on strike? or even just give up the game altogether?

[monutdfc]

Exactly. Very much doubt there were Observers even at those games. I reckon they were both punished solely on footage seen on MNS
AFAIK there is an observer at every game.
I missed MNS - what did Hanney and Tuite do (or not do) that was shown on MNS?

[Schumi]

Tuite missed a Bray defender on the line blatently handling the ball to stop it going in. I'm not sure about the other guy.

Is there a list anywhere of which refs have done which games BTW?

[OneRedArmy]

How long will it be before they decide to go on strike? or even just give up the game altogether?I have some sympathy for referees collectively, but there's no doubt that the increased TV coverage (as in England) is highlighting the high level of incorrect decisions.

I'm not sure if having two refs would address the problem as whilst a lot of the errors are down to poor positioning, in a lot of cases the referee clearly sees the incident and still makes the wrong call.

[stann]

Tuite missed a Bray defender on the line blatently handling the ball to stop it going in. I'm not sure about the other guy.

Hanney turned down a penalty shout and sent off Jamie McKenzie for diving at Turner's Cross (second yellow, the first was pretty dodgy too if I remember it right) when it was in fact a stonewall peno. A woeful decision.

Nail on head all those who said that if Dundalk-Shels had been on telly there might have been three refs with five weeks off. Another reason to show Div 1 highlights maybe? :D
This is purely in response to being highlighted so starkly, and publicly. But it's none the worse for that. Hope the refs body have started (albeit well overdue) as they mean to go on. And that MNS keep showing up those unacceptable performances.

[LeixlipRed]

The Dundalk Shels game was one of the most exciting games I've ever seen. Would have looked good on tv. Once they didn't show the halftime entertainment :D

[higgins]

I love the way the Dundalk lads are going on about the Shels game last week :)
Do you even know what the red cards were handed out for ??

He probably deserves to be suspended for the double booking and no red card of Keddy but I thought overall he was ok.

Dundalk lost the plot, not the ref !!

[The Lilywhites]

Do you even know what the red cards were handed out for??

Cassidy was sent-off for running at the linesman! He never said a word to him, just ran at him. Apparently it's called "intentional dissent".

[passerrby]

elite ,school of excellence blody hell who picks them terms

[Schumi]

elite ,school of excellence blody hell who picks them termsThe PR department picks them, going forward.

[A face]

Good news, I agree that they should be named and shamed however.

We dont really need to be shaming them to be honest. If it forces them to improve then it will be enough. That's the objective. I know we all feel hard done by but they are a vital part of the game and i dont think shame on its own will help them improve. A big part in this would be the will to change and improve, honest observation of the performances and seeking to improve upon decisions/games where they know they made mistakes.


How long will it be before they decide to go on strike? or even just give up the game altogether?

Exactly, there is alot of time and effort goes in on their behalf and that has to be recognised. If they start throwing the towel then it can only get worse.


I'm not sure if having two refs would address the problem as whilst a lot of the errors are down to poor positioning, in a lot of cases the referee clearly sees the incident and still makes the wrong call.

Two refs is a no go, not a chance. If games in other leagues have only one ref there is no reason it cant be done here. They just need to improve. Maybe even have more refs and invest in training etc.


This is purely in response to being highlighted so starkly, and publicly. But it's none the worse for that. Hope the refs body have started (albeit well overdue) as they mean to go on. And that MNS keep showing up those unacceptable performances.

Highlighting it is good and i think all the refs would agree as well. If its a means to an end then its a good thing. If we ever want to game to improve here then we need refs to progress as well.

[Réiteoir]

elite ,school of excellence blody hell who picks them terms

Generic UEFA Terms - I'm part of our County FA School of Excellence here in England - but it goes under a slightly different name of "Referees Devleopment Group".

One of my colleagues works closely with the Bedfordshire FA School of Excellence - they're all down at a tournament in the east of England this weekend.

[KevB76]

elite ,school of excellence blody hell who picks them terms


What do you expect them to call it, school of mediocrity ?
Wouldnt exactly inspire any refs to try their best would it ?

[KevB76]

Cassidy was sent-off for running at the linesman! He never said a word to him, just ran at him. Apparently it's called "intentional dissent".


So a player acts the tit but lets blame the ref as usual.

No sympathy for the player, we need a lot more of those decisions and maybe eventually people will start to get the message and cop themselves on

[iceman]

I missed MNS - what did Hanney and Tuite do (or not do) that was shown on MNS?
What planet have you been on for the past week:cool:

[A face]

What planet have you been on for the past week:cool:

Ah i wouldn't say that, i mean theres a bright side to it too. At least he was spared by not seeing it.

[DonO'Bate]

"The Referees Committee, at its meeting of Thursday 15th May 2008, noted that two of the Elite Referees have been stood down from refereeing at eircom League of Ireland level following reports from the Referee Observers who attended their games last weekend.



The referees concerned will miss the next five series of games and will be subject to the existing process which supports referees whose performances do not meet the required standards."

JC_GUFC are you going to re-surrect your refereeing career in light of the above development?

[LeixlipRed]

but I thought overall he was ok.

Dundalk lost the plot, not the ref !!

Ah come on John!!!! He sent two players off and both times didn't realise he had done.

[sligored]

So a player acts the tit but lets blame the ref as usual.

No sympathy for the player, we need a lot more of those decisions and maybe eventually people will start to get the message and cop themselves on

so mckenzie cant play tomorrow night v bray. why. all sligo fans can accept losing to a better team cork on the night.

you cant suspend hanney for his mistake and suspend mckenzie for diving.

yet another woeful decision.

fai/eircom league take a bow

[soccerc]

JC_GUFC are you going to re-surrect your refereeing career in light of the above development?

You can't resurrect something that wasn't there in the first place

[KevB76]

so mckenzie cant play tomorrow night v bray. why. all sligo fans can accept losing to a better team cork on the night.

you cant suspend hanney for his mistake and suspend mckenzie for diving.

yet another woeful decision.

fai/eircom league take a bow


Thats not the incident I was referring to.

Why is it one ref makes a balls of things and all of a sudden its all refs are ****e all over again ?

By the way, mckenzies first yellow was excellent reffing - it was definitely a yellow becasue he attmpted to trip the Cork player, doesnt matter that he didnt actually manange to - ref allowed play to continue (not penalising Cork for McKenzies foul) and waited until the phase of play had completed before showing the yellow. Textbook stuff. Theres no defending his mistakes though, they were terrible in fairness.

[Greenforever]

Referees are essential to the game and in my opinion there is nothing to be gained by publicly humiliating them by announcing they have been stood down.

If you want to encourage more people to take up reffing we need to treat them better. Referees can be dropped from the list without any need for publicity.

As regards Referees assessors, they are not illfalible either and what looks like a illegal challenge from one angle can look perfectly good from a different angle. All we have to do is look at the TMO in rugby using multiple angles to decide if a try has been scored.

I would love to see officials on the goalline as in GAA to assist the ref in incidents in and around the penalty area, with all officials wired up together.

On a slightly different topic, i would like to see a straight red card brought in for diving in cases where there is no player between the defender and the goal, i.e. where if a free in / penalty had been given the defender would have seen red. I would also like to see a "penalty goal" as in rugby trialled on an experimental basis.

[Buile Shuibhne]

A definite candidate for some public humiliation, for his consistant colour clash phobia:


Then the visitors' manager Johnny McDonnell was asked by eagle-eyed referee Anthony Buttimer to change his navy blue top because of a clash with his team's away colours.

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2008/0516/drogheda_stpatricks.html

[shelsfan1]

How can Hancock go through the scenario of double booking someone and not sending them off twice and not be punished? That's farcical.

and did no one else see the keeper pickin up a back pass and handlin it outside the box in the space of 5 seconds. and the ref did nothin

[superfrank]

A definite candidate for some public humiliation, for his consistant colour clash phobia:



http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2008/0516/drogheda_stpatricks.html
One can only guess that Buttimer is colour blind.