On TV tonight: Men In Black featuring Barry Kelly

June 26, 2014

Referee Barry Kelly shows JJ Delaney of Kilkenny and Lar Corbett of Tipperary the red card during the NHL Division 1 Final at Nowlan Park. INPHO
Hurling referee Barry Kelly will be the subject of tonight's episode of Setanta Sports' 'Men In Black' series.

If last night's programme with David Coldrick is anything to go by, Setanta Ireland will be the place to be at 9pm tonight as the cameras turn their attention to the Westmeath hurling official.

One of the most experienced hurling referees, Barry Kelly has refereed three All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Finals in 2006, 2008 and 2012. The show sees him as he prepares for his the All-Ireland hurling quarter-final between Cork and Kilkenny. He talks about the decision of sending-off Kilkenny's favourite son, Henry Shefflin and how people comment on soft frees.

"Being fair is an awkward one. What is being fair? Is it being 50/50? It's not. Being fair is that each decision is taken on its merits and you disregard the previous decision. If you go to avoid controversy, you are probably avoid making the hard decisions. Sometimes you hear people saying it was a soft free. It is something that really gets me. A soft free in my view is maybe one that was unnecessary, lazy tackling, pulling a jersey. Spectators may say it was soft because there wasn't much of a foul, but not much of a foul is almost like not much being pregnant," explain Kelly.

Kelly briefly speaks about his grief as his wife Catherine, who his episode is dedicated to, passed away.

He gives opinion on the media and that every referee is looking to referee the big games: "I could be a liar and say the media doesn't bother me but there would be plenty of people to say they saw me flicking through all the newspaper on a Monday morning which wouldn't be untrue really," he says.

"There is only one Munster final, Leinster final and only one All-Ireland final and we all want to be refereeing at them. We all have a job to do and we are a team, two linesman, fourth official, referee, and four umpires. The time you have the most control in any game is before it. You could lose control within 8 seconds, one or two strokes are pulled and you let them away with it, it is almost like giving every guy on the field a license. So you might keep it very tight early on and firmly get in charge."

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