Referee Martin Higgins has slammed the behaviour of 'some officials and managers'

A top GAA referee in Fermanagh has hit out at the behaviour of "some club officials and managers" in the county over the treatment of whistle blowers.

Referees' secretary Martin Higgins was speaking at last night's Fermanagh convention when he revealed examples where referees were mistreated, with one giving it up altogether.

Higgins told Independent.ie today that recruiting referees has become a major problem in the county.

"I have talked to former players and asked them if they would be interested in becoming refs and they say not a chance because they 'couldn't listen to all the abuse'.

"Some managers are self serving. They want success and you can't blame them for that. But some of the abuse is not right.

"Between 2016 and 2017 there was a 72 per cent increase in the number of red cards dished out for abuse towards referees."

Higgins spoke how "a new recruit to refereeing was subjected to sustained verbal abuse and spat at in the aftermath of a challenging game", while another "who left the field in a senior league game following sustained abuse from certain club officials", at last night's convention according to the Irish Sun.

"And although he returned to finish the game he has quit refereeing. Some club officials and managers need to take a hard look at how they conduct themselves," said Higgins.

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"Despite a high-profile campaign to recruit new referees, we only managed to secure four new referee recruits.

"Most current players approaching the end of their careers will not consider taking up the whistle due to the abuse.

"The situation is only going to change when those reported are dealt with according to the Official Guide and the suspensions set down are actually served."

Online Editors