Mayo GAA Chairman warns of increased levies on clubs after ‘very poor’ uptake of new referees

THE Chairman of Mayo GAA has said clubs who do not supply new referees may be hit with increased county board levies.

Séamus Touhy made this suggestion at the monthly meeting of the Mayo GAA county board, where he described the update of new referees as ‘very poor’.

The meeting heard that just three people had signed up for referee training since an appeal was issued at December’s Mayo GAA convention.

Touhy said that it was ‘not sustainable’ for Mayo GAA to officiate 3,500 adult and underage games a year with a panel of approximately 60 referees.

Mayo GAA’s Coiste Bainstí recently agreed an increase in referees’ fees; this will see referees receive €60 for adult and Under-21 hurling and football championship games.

Those who referee adult hurling and football league games will get €45 per game.

The fee for referees and sidelines officials at Under-13 to Under-18 hurling league and championship will be €40 per game while referees at Under-12 games will get €35 per game.

Sideline officials at Under-13 to adult level receive €30 per match – except adult championship games, where the fee is €35.

Mayo GAA Assistant Treasurer, Michael Diskin, said the county board’s expenditure would rise by between €12,000 and €15,000 as a result of the increase in referees’ fees.

Touhy said that Mayo GAA were at ‘crisis point’ due to the lack of referees.

“The response has been very poor, I have to say,” Touhy remarked.

“We need manpower. This is really, really, urgent. If we don’t train referees at this time of year it’s very difficult to get new referees at the start of the season.”

Mayo GAA Referees Administrator, Sean McHale, echoed Touhy’s concerns, telling the meeting that some of the ‘bigger clubs’ were not supplying any referees.

“This year, there mightn’t be a crisis, but if that pace of recruitment continues then in three or four years’ time there will be a serious problem,” McHale said.

Touhy added that some clubs had been ‘excellent’ by supplying between four and five referees, but that there were ‘a lot of well-established clubs here who don’t supply referees’.

“What we are saying quite clearly here is if we don’t have referees who don’t have games,” he added.

His suggestion that levies be increased on clubs that don’t supply referees was met with some disdain from Ballycroy delegate Michael Gallagher, who said it would ‘punish’ clubs financially.

“Tell me another way of doing it?” asked Touhy.

“I’m not up there,” Gallagher responded.

Mayo GAA Vice-Chairman Con Moynihan said that Mayo GAA would be ‘inundated’ if every club supplied one or two new referees.

“We have three clubs with four referees. There’s an argument there that they shouldn’t be paying referees’ expenses because they are being pulled and dragged all over the county,” Moynihan said.

“If the other 44 units had one referee each, or two, we’d be inundated.”  

Sean McHale said that gear was being organised for referees for the coming season.

“The referees will be fully kitted out so there will be no need for nudity after the beginning of this year,” McHale remarked.