Abuse of Referees

Galway fans don't like James Owen.......

Thats horrible. not surprising but horrible. will take something drastic for that figure to decrease

Refs and all match officials need far greater supports if things are to get better for them. they need better training and there needs to be far harsher punishments for abuse of officials and to try change the attitudes towards officials at all levels

He has to get Jail for that and a lifetime ban from attending any GAA game, club activities etc.

I've seen the video of that ref in Roscommon getting assaulted. That "manager" needs jailing.

I think the Gardai should be involved. GAA punishment can come later.

It's not enough if he is barred from ever entering a playing field again !

That's it ! It wasnt a heat of the moment action.

What an example to the youngsters on the field. It will be interesting what sanctions are taken

This is shocking stuff - the big thing here for me is that the punishment should be on the club as much as the individual.

Its not uncommon to come across clubs, or teams within clubs, where there is a culture of abusing referees, where its seen as ok, where its not challenged.

This attack didnt happen in a vacuum.

The fact is that at present, the GAA is effectively condoning this by (i) having no clear guidelines on how players or mentors (its a bit much to say an u17 team has a 'manager) communicate with referees, (ii) not giving suitable punishments for on-field violence. Rugby has been the role model for years, GAA has chosen not to follow.

At the very least the club should be coming out with a statement and banning the guy for life removing his membership.

100%

Well thats a what if, I dont know.

But I do know that only the captain has permission to speak to the referee in rugby, which is they way it should be.

In my view, this is a massive test for the GAA - its not just about punishing the incident, its about admitting that refs are not being protected (by the GAA) and that the rules have to changes.

Banned for life, and a few months in a cell too to boot.

The club should hang him out to dry, but I think we'll see pigs fly before that happens. An absolute coward going after an official like that.

Who's going to enforce that one? I wouldn't be turning that lunatic away at the turnstile when he rocks up.

There are incidents around the country on a daily basis. More and more are getting noticed now because of the filming of games.

That's an assault & should be a straightforward conviction if prosecuted. That man needs to know what the inside of Castlerea Prison looks like, if he doesn't already. They can fire into the sun this bullshit of 'out of character'/'good clubman' etc etc at the hearing.

Absolutely disgraceful stuff, a lifetime ban and criminal prosecution completely warranted here.

People often bemoan the standard of referees in GAA, but it's not like they fall from the sky, incidents like this will only make people less inclined to put their name forward for what is already a thankless job, and the standard of officiating will regress further.

Anything I'm hearing is that it was totally unprovoked. I'm not sure if you are trying to justify the headbutt?

Hahahah trying to find a way to potentially justify a headbutt where the camera didn’t show them for about 3 seconds. Ref must have some serious verbal skills to have provoked it

It is not just Roscommon, it is in every county. Within my own county, we had a u13 game, where it was clear the ref was not physically able to ref (he was over weight by about 8 stone) and was allowing marks when these were not supposed to be happening. Calling for fouls when they were not and then not giving them in others. I am not blaming the ref, as the County Board should have a bit of "cop on" and not have this guy ref or if they do, some proper training is given to him. I think they just can't get refs and so some guys are doing it when they should not.

So, it really is more than the abuse and comes down to the quality of refs/training provided, but even if decisions don't go your way that does not mean you beat the head of some guy trying to do his best.

This manager in Roscommon is in serious trouble if it goes to court and the club should also be made pay just as bad.

Perplexed seeing the comments talking about bans. This is a straight up criminal assault and an extremely cowardly one at that. The man needs to go to jail.