SFC final referee James Connors on the changing landscape for match officials

James Connors says that while the new playing rules are asking referees to do much more physically, they are, at the same time, also making games much more enjoyable to officiate. 

The St Eunan’s clubman will take charge of Sunday’s SFC decider between Naomh Conaill and Gaoth Dobhair in Letterkenny. 

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The Football Review Committee (FRC) made an unprecedented number of tweaks to the playing rules of Gaelic football, but there is no doubt they have, on the whole, been an overwhelming success. 

The Donegal SFC has been a bit of a rollercoaster with new forces emerging and old ones not finding the going as easy as they once did. 

Connors says they’ve also impacted greatly on match officials who are being put through the ringer like never before. 

However, while their aerobic capacity and general fitness have had to improve to keep up with the new pace,  Connors says that in the middle of so much chaos, it is, strangely enough, a much more tranquil environment when it comes to noise.  

“There is no question that it’s been a huge change for referees,” he said. “The game has suddenly become a lot quicker. 

“There are no real hanging around moments like there used to be - to catch breath or even compose yourself. The ‘tap and go’ means it rarely pauses. 

“With more space for players, it’s end-to-end now, and so referees are having to work even harder to keep up with all of that. 

“If sides do look to transition or move up the field through the laces, or kick pass, you can find yourself left behind, cast adrift. 

“You have to sort of reevaluate the positions you spent your entire refereeing career previously taking up. That’s not as easy as it sounds. 

“You want to be close to the action, close enough to make solid calls. It’s still the natural instinct. But if you get too close and the play switches, you are looking to make up serious ground in those circumstances. 

“You just have to really read the game much more closely and, at the same time, make sure you’re evaluating the action in respect of the new rules. It hasn’t been a switch that could just be flicked. 

“The players have found that out and so too have we, the officials. But to be fair to everyone, management teams included, everyone seems to be appreciative of all of that as we are, to a large degree, in that same boat”. 

Connors says now, more than ever, getting through games and making sure the right calls are made takes real trust and reliance on all his assistants. 

But again, he points out that the role of the linesman has also changed drastically in terms of how he keeps up with the pace. And that, as he explains, has become a little more similar to a soccer linesman looking to stay in line with the offside trap. 

“You have to lean on the other officials more than ever now, linemen, umpires and so on. It’s that collective effort, from all eight match-day officials, and at times you simply have to place complete trust in them. 

“Because there are times when the play switches, and they are the ones in the best position. It’s one of the things that we’ve all spoken about, as referees, and that is the fact that there are so many lines now on the field of play that have to be watched. 

“It’s not a case of a linesman just pointing left or right for sideline balls anymore. They are now completely zoned in on those same lines, looking for breaches and often assisting with calls like shots, and whether they were taken inside or outside the arc. 

“And all of a sudden that means moving up and down that same sideline at a more frantic speed”.

Connors says that the noise from the stands or outside the perimeter probably has gone up as supporters play ‘referee’ when it comes to ‘three up’ breaches. 

But when it comes to players airing their own grievances inside the white lines, it’s never been as quiet.  

“When you’re at an elevated vantage point, all of that feels easy. You can see the arc and the breaches quite clearly. I’ve been there. But when you’re at pitch level, that becomes much trickier. 

“One of the things I’ve noticed is that on the brighter days, the sunlight can play havoc with all of that. 

“Like, I’ve no doubt that the distance that linemen are covering, to make sure they are in a position to help with those calls, has gone way up. 

“At club level, we don’t wear GPS right now. At national level, of course, they do. The anecdotal evidence or feedback we’ve received says that the distances have, of course, increased. 

“And while we haven’t got those figures to hand, it’s plain to be seen that everyone is suddenly covering much more ground”. 

But juggling all of that, applying the new rules and upping the kilometres covered, Connors says that a huge drop in dissent is making that switched process much easier. 

“We’ve probably never had it better when it comes to dissent or someone having a moan. Because there simply isn’t that same time or opportunity for players to complain. 

“I see the toll the new rules take on them and whenever there's a half chance or half second to draw breath, they’ll do that quicker than complain. 

“Many will say it’s the 50m penalty that has stopped the dissent. Yes, that’s a part of it, but for me it’s the fact that the player that’s committed the foul simply doesn’t have the time to get in your ear as the play gets going almost instantly”.