ACCESS TO REFEREES’ microphones could be involved in GAA TV coverage of matches in the future.

Declan McBennett, the RTÉ Head of Sport, feels it would be a progressive move to allow supporters to hear the reasoning behind decisions made by referees.

At present the referees’ audio is available to TV stations for the All-Ireland semi-finals and final, but it is not broadcast and is instead used an information tool.

McBennett feels the examples of other sports could be followed by the GAA.

“If you go back to the Armagh/Tyrone skirmish, melee, call it what you will. That happened one of the weekends of the Six Nations,” McBennett said.

“If Romain Poite or Wayne Barnes makes a decision to send somebody off the pitch in a rugby match, you hear what they are being sent off for, and you hear there was no clear sign of mitigation because the tackle was high, they didn’t wrap around, all that kind of stuff.

“If you watch the coverage from Cheltenham, there was one race in particular (the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle) where there was a stewards inquiry at the end.

“The two jockeys were brought into the stewards room and they were asked, what did you do and what did you not do, and did you feel you were interfered with?

“In fairness to the Irish jockey involved (Paddy Brennan), he said there was no interference there. I lost the race fair and square. There is no issue here. Yer man won. I didn’t. End of story.

“The ability to allow referees to articulate their decisions. That match between Armagh and Tyrone, most people didn’t know why there was five players sent off. They didn’t know why there was four from Tyrone and one from Armagh got sent off.

“If David Gough is mic-ed and the mic is made available to the broadcasters and the press box, in its various guises and to the audience, you know that ‘x’ was sent off for a headlock, ‘b’ was sent off for striking, ‘c’ was send off for abusing an official etc, etc etc.”

RTÉ Head of Sport Declan McBennett Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO

McBennett was speaking yesterday at the launch of RTÉ’s coverage of the 2022 GAA championships.

Starting this Sunday with two Munster hurling games, they will have 35 live senior championship matches this summer, split between 18 in football and 17 in hurling.

The Tailteann Cup and Joe McDonagh Cup are also set to be part of their coverage.

“The principle is there …. and it will roll out over time, the question is what timeframe is needed here,” stated McBennett, expanding on the use of referees’ microphones.

“If we can hear Martin McNally or David Gough or Conor Lane, whoever it happens to be over both codes saying that was a chop, that was a strike, that was a headlock, there is no mitigation, off you go and the people at home are wiser, the people in the studio are wiser, the people in the press box are wiser and the people who have access to feeds are wiser. It is just a better way of doing business.”