NO PICTURE CAN TRULY become the entirety of evidence when it comes to the ruling made by referee Liam Gordon’s umpire in the closing moments of the Munster hurling round robin game between Waterford and Clare.

The umpire ruled that the sliotar came off Waterford full-back Mark Fitzgerald. He took his time though and ambled out to the spot the ball exited play, before semi-hesitantly raising his arm for a 65.

It was subsequently nailed by Clare’s Mark Rodgers, who placed the ball noticeably closer to goal than the actual 65 metre mark.

Given that the successful strike put Clare back in the lead and there wasn’t even time for the puck-out, it had the potential to be one of the most significant decisions of the hurling season.

As it is, the narrative at present is that the umpire guessed it. But he guessed right.

It still did not stop Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald remonstrating in aggressive fashion with the referee as he came off the pitch, before Clare mentor Tommy Corbett got caught up in the mix.

For the Chairperson of the National GAA Referees Development Committee, Jack Devaney, the area of training umpires and of respecting officials are two areas he is keen to examine in his committee, which was only recently ratified.

“We haven’t got round to it, but it would be (a priority) for me,” Devaney told The 42.

“And that’s a bigger task. Because, you are dealing with things that you don’t have control of, naturally.

“You are dealing with something in the culture and maybe a long-standing culture, that you are trying to go about changing.

“I do think in some respects, the rule changes, the heftier penalties that were brought in last year, even those at club level have helped a bit.

“But the whole issue of and around respect for referees is still one that stands out for me. We still haven’t come close to getting that right as an organisation. It’s a very difficult one to get right.”

He continued, “People point to other sports and ask, why are our players not able to respect the referee a little bit more.

“But that culture within, that’s long-standing. So trying to change something like this is going to be difficult and will take time.

“There’s a sense of entitlement nearly, with a lot of people in the GAA. They think they are entitled to do this, to berate the referee. They might think it’s part of who and what we are. But it certainly is not.”

Devaney revealed that one area he is keen to look at is just how much training umpires get and how they can assist a referee in matches.

One area that frustrates spectators is how inside forwards can be held off the ball and some umpires appear to be impassive towards it.

“It is on our radar to look at all of this. Because we have to ensure that when it comes to championship that referee’s umpires are strong. So we have to monitor that as well, yo make sure that there are no real weaknesses,” said Devaney.

Jack Devaney. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

“Referees usually bring umpires that they are comfortable with. That doesn’t always translate into as strong as possible a team that he or she could put their hands on.

“Some pick teams of umpires from people who have been with a referee that was on the championship panel and who have moved on. So you can have some very experienced umpires.”

Like all the other committees established under the new GAA President Jarlath Burns, Devaney’s committee was only ratified by Central Council in March, so they found they were launched straight into a championship season.

What changes they might be able to bring, will happen in the close season, as there are always matters overtaking them in the meantime.

One area they will focus on is the level of training all match officials receive.

“We have a number of workgroups looking at different areas and training would be one of them,” he said.

“Training is not only about the referee and the referee in championship. It’s about match officials broadly, looking at what we can lay out and what we can recommend that goes beyond intercounty, that comes back into the county and down to clubs as well.”

He is aware that this might represent a bridge too far for some umpires, who might baulk at a notable time commitment.

“Championship referees are a different body of people in that they know the expectation is there and they regularly have seminars even throughout the championship. Every few weeks they would meet up, be it online or in person to do a lot of stuff,” explains Devaney.

“You take the umpire, who is essentially a volunteer to the referee in a lot of cases, we are just going to have to strike the balance there. You don’t want to put people off by the notion of them having to go through significant training.”