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Wexford GAA to propose life bans for referee abuse

Following recent incidents of alleged abuse of referees, all clubs in Wexford will have to hold workshops for mentors or see their fixtures postponed.

ALL WEXFORD GAA fixtures will go ahead as planned this weekend following a meeting with the county executive, referees and the referees administration committee at Chadwicks Wexford Park tonight.

The meeting was held “to discuss the promotion of good discipline and the protection of referees” following an alleged incident during a junior football match on Sunday which led to a St Joseph’s GAA member being “suspended indefinitely” from the club

It was the second alleged incident involving a referee in Wexford in the space of six weeks.

In a statement, Wexford GAA said Tuesday night’s meeting was focused on “arriving at actions to improve the overall discipline at our games and ensuring the protection of referees from verbal or physical threats.”

The statement continues to outline that at the next Central Council meeting, Wexford GAA will propose for a Special Congress to be arranged to remove the current 96-week maximum term of suspension for verbal or physical threat to an official, and introduce debarment and/or expulsion from the GAA as penalties that may be considered.

It was also agreed that all clubs in Wexford must hold workshops for mentors from U11 through to adult level before next Wednesday, 5 October, “to go through a self-evaluation of their conduct towards match officials.”

The following day, (6 October), all clubs will have to report to the county executive that the workshop has taken place, along with a list of those in attendance and the findings from the workshop.

Any club who does not confirm that their workshop has taken place will see their fixtures at all levels postponed until the workshop is completed.

Wexford GAA are also proposing a review and simplification of the GAA disciplinary system, and an overhaul of the “Give Respect – Get Respect” campaign.

The statement in full can be found here.

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