SET ASIDE the inadequacies of the rules which govern physical contact in what has become a high speed, physically confrontational game and look at some general issues. Is there a case to be made for reducing the number of players on a team to 13? Increasingly, fixed position play is becoming subvetted in favour of mobile packs of players chasing the ball en masse. With no offside rule to create space in the game, all sections of the pitch are prone to overcrowding whenever the ball arrives. The central area between the 40s is frequently jammed as a tactic to prevent opponents getting a hold on midfield.
The question of refereeing always arises whenever incidents like those at Parnell Park hit the news. Frank Toher, the referee in charge of the Dublin Offaly match, was criticised for his handling of events, most specifically for not abandoning the tie once the fight failed to subside.
Aside from the problems of applying ambiguoules, a football referee's workload is staggering must keep the score, regulate substitutions - maintain order, and act as timekeeper as well as referee the game. No wonder then that some analysts believe that since the introduction of the quick free, match officials have lost the unequal struggle to keep up with the play.
Liam Mulvihill has recently floated the much discussed notion of using two referees for championship matches. He proposes the abolition of linesmen and the appointment of a third official to control substitutions and keep time. This would almost certainly be an improvement on the current situation where seven officials (four umpires, two linesmen and a referee) regulate a match but virtually the entire burden of responsibility falls on one.
In the Dublin Offaly match, the status of the linesmen was further devalued by a failure to appoint officials, so that the line duties were shared by one linesman from each county. Although no one has made a serious complaint about either official, the very presence of someone from a player's own county on the line can very easily loosen his inhibitions in relation to off the ball incidents, of which there was an unhealthy supply during the match.
