A top GAA referee has called for action to curb indiscipline by team managers.
Pat McEnaney has refereed All-Ireland finals as well as the International Rules series and was commenting after an unruly weekend on the sideline at two big championship matches.
Kilkenny manager Brian Cody frequently encroached onto the pitch and was involved in an angry confrontation with referee Diarmuid Kirwan at half-time during the All-Ireland qualifier match in Thurles.
Kerry manager Jack O'Connor also attracted controversy when being seen to run towards referee Gerry Kinneavy after the Munster football final, as the official was being escorted off by Gardaí.
"We need to deal with the situation where managers are leaving referees very exposed," said McEnaney. "It's almost giving a licence to others to have a go when a manager is seen coming onto the field to have a go. It's not a great example to the players and causes friction on the terraces.
"I spoke to three or four of my colleagues this morning (Monday) and we were in agreement that it's not acceptable for managers to come onto the pitch. It's something we're going to raise at our next meeting."
In the meantime both managers face an anxious wait until the respective referee's reports arrive on the desk of the Games Administration Committee. Yesterday GAA president Seán Kelly responded cautiously to the matter, outlining the next move.
"There are regulations that came in again this year and we actually slackened off in some of them. The manager has an opportunity to go up and down the line but he is not expected to be going from sideline to sideline, from one area to another. And that's something the GAC obviously will be monitoring and looking at.
"The GAC look at every game and make decisions afterwards. Usually, the first time a manager, or someone else transgresses, they are given a warning but the next time it happens they will be put outside the line and that's the way that works."
The scenario outlined above is only one of a range of possibilities. It is customary in the case of pitch encroachment to issue a warning, depending on the severity of the offence, and enforce match bans in the event of recurrence.
Reporting pitch encroachment is the responsibility of the match monitor whose job it is to keep an eye on match regulations.
When match bans are imposed, the manager is not allowed on the sideline and must sit in the stand.
There have been a number of examples of this in recent years, including Páidí Ó Sé, when Kerry manager, and his then Cork counterpart Larry Tompkins.
A more serious and worrying consideration from a Kilkenny point of view is the prospect of Cody being reported by the referee for verbal abuse of a match official, which under Rule 138 (3) (i) of the Official Guide carries a suspension of eight weeks.
The difference between a match ban and a suspension is that whereas both involve the manager being restricted to the stand on match day, a suspension means he may not even enter the dressing-room.
Rule 137 states suspension applies to all "functions, privileges and competitions under the association's control". Strictly interpreted this means a manager cannot even train the team but that is virtually never enforced.
Were Cody to fall foul of this he would have to remain in the stand for the All-Ireland quarter-final and, if Kilkenny reach it, the semi-final, but the eight weeks would be up by the final.
His fate rests with referee Kirwan. If he reports the Kilkenny manager for verbal abuse, the GAC will be left with little option but to impose the eight-week sanction.
During the match Kirwan ordered Cody away from the goal area (managers are not generally permitted to station themselves near the goal) but otherwise took no action. The problem for referees is that they cannot show yellow or red cards to team officials; the only sanction available is the ultimate one of ordering a manager off the sideline and into the stand.
But in fact referees are advised to avoid confrontation and not to engage verbally with any managers during a match but to put any offences into their report. Kirwan's report will be discussed at next Monday's GAC meeting.
Kelly also referred yesterday to the situation in Limerick, which saw referee Kinneavy being escorted off the field by a number of Gardaí.
"I think some of these things are a bit dramatic, sometimes a bit extreme. I don't think referees are directly under threat but I know the Gardaí take every precaution.
"I suppose it's a question of sitting down and seeing what's the best way of getting the referee to safety if there is a danger - but sometimes that danger can be exaggerated and particularly dramatic scenes can give the wrong impression.
"I would hope to sit down and speak to the Garda commissioner and work out a strategy whereby obviously security and safety have to be of primary importance but to do so in a less dramatic overplay."
