Davy Fitzgerald believes removing GAA managers from the sideline and accommodating them in a coaches’ box in the stand would stop the potential for flashpoints with match officials.
The Antrim hurling boss was recently hit with an eight-week suspension for comments made about linesman Johnny Murphy in a post-match interview following Antrim’s Leinster SHC defeat to Galway last month.
It is not the first time the Clare native has found himself navigating the GAA’s disciplinary system, but there have been several other incidents between coaches and match officials this summer – including a half-time ruckus in the Munster SHC final between Cork and Limerick.
“I could pick another few games this year where there has been roaring and shouting at referees,” says Fitzgerald.
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“I’ll always get picked out, that’s fine and that’s grand. I don’t mind that but maybe there’s a solution to this – take the management off the sideline and put them in the stand [in a box], the same as rugby do. And allow teams to have a runner if they want to make one or two changes.
“Do we [managers] need to be on the sideline? Is it just to be seen? Everybody probably thinks that I love to be there. No. If it would make life easier for the referees [it should be looked at].”
It’s not Fitzgerald’s only suggestion in terms of addressing the topic of match officials and their relationship with managers.
“I’d love to see the night, or a few days before a game, that you have 10 minutes to chat with the ref and he can say to you, ‘This is what I’m looking for, A, B, C and D’. There’s dialogue there, there’s chat,” adds Fitzgerald.
“You have an idea even what way to train the team; I think that’s sensible. Then, the following day after the game, if you could call the referee [and ask], ‘listen, that decision, can you just explain to me what you saw?’. There should be a channel of communication at least.
“The only other thing I’d like is an independent panel to work alongside Donal Smyth (head of referees).
“I’m trying to think outside the box to see if there’s something that would help this whole situation – keep the communication channels open, take management off the sideline and allow runners. I think that’ll stop a lot.”
As for his suspension, Fitzgerald was annoyed at the decision of referee Thomas Gleeson to only send off Antrim’s Declan McCloskey following a tussle with Galway’s Tom Monaghan. Murphy alerted Gleeson to the incident.
Fitzgerald approached the match officials at half-time. In his post-match interview, the Antrim manager claimed: “Johnny Murphy wouldn’t have any time for me anyway. Everybody knows that himself and one or two more of them, they actually despise me and that’s fine, I can get over that.”
Fitzgerald subsequently received an eight-week ban for “misconduct considered to have discredited the association”.
“There are a few things that bother me about this,” says Fitzgerald. “Were we going to beat Galway on the day? No.
“But was it the difference between losing by 20-something points and maybe losing by 10 or 12 points? One-hundred per cent.
“There should have been two gone in that instance, that’s what should have happened. I asked at half-time, ‘Did you not see the second one?’ And I was aggressively told something which I did not like. Had I run-ins with Johnny Murphy before? I had. Did I tell lies afterwards? I didn’t. That’s how I felt. I said what I felt, got my suspension.
“I look at other things that have happened this year [where nobody was punished]. The only thing I’d like to see and I’m not saying I don’t deserve it at times, I’m not saying that . . . I’m saying that there has to be consistency across the board.”
Whether Fitzgerald will be back as Antrim manager next year remains to be seen. He admits the journey from Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, to Belfast took its toll over the course of his first season at the helm of the Saffrons.
However, he has not ruled out a return to manage Antrim in 2026.
“I’ll be meeting the chairman in the next 10 days. Did I enjoy working with the lads? One-hundred per cent, I love being a part of them, they are as good a group of lads to train as you’d ever train.
“The clubs in Antrim are top-class. The calls I would have got even after the Offaly game from some of the clubs were brilliant. The county board is top-class. They’re the plusses.
“On the other side of it, did I struggle going up there? I struggled with the travel, 100 per cent.
“And I suppose I’m very conscious that Colm is 27, 28 now and Daithí Óg is three. I missed him like crazy every weekend.
“It’s a big decision. Unless Davy Fitz is 100 per cent in it with his drive and his goal, he’s no good. I need to make sure that’s the way, I need to make sure I’m okay with the travel. But I love being a part of them boys.
“Do I think if I was to stay for the next two or three years that I could make a difference? Yeah, I’d be very confident.”
– Fitzgerald was speaking at the launch of the 24th annual Circet All-Ireland GAA Golf Challenge, which takes place at Killarney Golf and Fishing Resort on October 16th and 17th.
