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All Ireland Hurling Final Referee

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It's a bit sad how some people here get so offended at any criticism of referees just because they happen to come from the same county.

ballydalane (Kilkenny) - Posts: 1246 - 12/08/2018 12:47:41    2132180

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Replying To ballydalane:  "It's a bit sad how some people here get so offended at any criticism of referees just because they happen to come from the same county."
i dont think that is true.
i defend all referees on here (just look at the "why did the ref") thread.
it is a thankless job,one i have never had the chance to try as i work weekends/evenings.
even if i could,i am not sure i would.
forgetting about real time,the first criticism of a referee is generally "the replay clearly showed....." - what about the real time,which is what the referee is going by?
if you asked me about 10 decisions and you about 10 decisions a referee makes,there is a good chance we would agree on 5 of them,debate 3 of them and flatly dispute 2 of them.
we need to stop using the one resource the games cant go on without,as a stick to blame when our team lose a game.
rugby has just as many,if not more,borderline calls,yet i never hear people in the bar after a match saying "oh the ref,he was why we lost".
i dont care if the all-ireland final is reffed by a man from wexford or a man from donegal,they all deserve our respect.

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 13/08/2018 08:35:26    2132523

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I really think that James McGrath has done himself no favours nor has the Westmeath county board.
Firstly, he came across very bad in the televised interview, almost with a sense of entitlement, and the argument that "people I've spoken to reckon I should have got it" angle doesn't hold any sway whatsoever... Their opinion is actually irrelevant as they're not involved in the decision process! It's like a player from one of the participating counties who doesn't make the team for the final retiring effectively because they thought they should be playing and coming out and saying that their friends and clubmates thought the same.
James simply didn't make the cut this year because the people making the decision thought there was a better alternative this time round. That is why the Westmeath county board has done no favours with its statement. It is totally irrelevant to this decision how much refereeing he has done in the past or how good a servant he has been to Westmeath hurling over the years, it just doesn't come into the decision making process nor should it.
As a fellow county man I agree that he has been a good servant to the GAA both at club and inter county level but I also must say that while I think he is a capable referee, I do not think he is a great referee or an exceptional one as some have stated and from looking at some of his recent performances (which I accept have divided opinion) I for one understand why he is not involved on sunday.

locklanegale (Wexford) - Posts: 68 - 15/08/2018 16:43:09    2133653

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Good luck to James Owens and his team on Sunday. No matter the decisions, I know one thing about him is he will make the fairest decisions he can.
Don't forget he is human and if you think he is a whatever, get a rulebook and whistle and get out there and show us how it is done!

StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1732 - 17/08/2018 15:45:52    2134086

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Wexford posters are totally defensive about James Owens, yes there are rules but some refs can manipulate the rules to work a result, his second half display in the Galway/Clare draw was ok ish, but he is very sketchy.

maroondiesel (Mayo) - Posts: 1196 - 17/08/2018 17:28:33    2134103

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This descended into a Wexford vs Westmeath debate.

James Owens is a good referee and I've watched Tipp games back where I thought he was hard on us and learned that he was bang on with the calls.

James McGrath was a poor referee, that is why he got overlooked for All-Ireland finals and how he responded to his most recent snub was petulant can we leave it at that?

Killarney.87 (Tipperary) - Posts: 2513 - 17/08/2018 18:42:19    2134115

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Referee in all Ireland minor final is seriously favouring galway with some dreadful decisions

890202 (Wexford) - Posts: 1278 - 19/08/2018 14:11:01    2134395

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Ref very poor here so far.

Brolly (Monaghan) - Posts: 4472 - 19/08/2018 16:06:56    2134413

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Replying To Brolly:  "Ref very poor here so far."
Can take the 'credit' for the goal and last point of the half for Limerick. Hope he ups his game in the second half

neverright (Roscommon) - Posts: 1648 - 19/08/2018 17:42:26    2134437

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Mr Owens gives his time to the GAA, well done to him for this. But I hope he has reffed his last Galway game, for a while.

galwayford (Galway) - Posts: 2517 - 19/08/2018 18:35:12    2134458

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Ref. Owens was pretty good today, Galway have no complaints

suckvalleypaddy (Galway) - Posts: 1667 - 19/08/2018 18:41:24    2134463

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Thought Owens made quite a few errors in frees awarded/ not given on both sides though supporters naturally only see the ones impacting their side. Frustrating for players and fans alike.
His timekeeping was OK though as so many stoppages for injuries and substitutions.
Limerick deserving winners.

conordee (Galway) - Posts: 440 - 19/08/2018 19:00:58    2134475

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Replying To conordee:  "Thought Owens made quite a few errors in frees awarded/ not given on both sides though supporters naturally only see the ones impacting their side. Frustrating for players and fans alike.
His timekeeping was OK though as so many stoppages for injuries and substitutions.
Limerick deserving winners."
He made a few errors, but with quite a few of our wides, and just our basic poor first touch being way below our usual standards, I personally have no issues with the ref. Too many of our lads were below par. This team gave us great days, but today, not to be. Comhgairdeachas Luimneach.

galwaydublin (Galway) - Posts: 226 - 19/08/2018 20:17:01    2134504

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Replying To galwayford:  "Mr Owens gives his time to the GAA, well done to him for this. But I hope he has reffed his last Galway game, for a while."
If you think Mr Owens is the reason you lost that game today, then you need to look closer at the number of wides, poor passes and Galway players who did not show up today.
James Owens is not the reason Galway lost the game.
Go produce some decent referees yourselves in Galway. A Galway referee and his crew made the worst call of the year against Waterford, yet all we have listened to all year is MOANING from GALWAY about referees. It is tedious, repetitive and frankly boring at this stage.
And I would be saying the same if Fergal Horgan/Paud O'Dwyer etc were in the middle today. Before people start saying I am biased towards a Wexford referee.

StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1732 - 19/08/2018 21:07:35    2134526

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Not too many Galway lads complaining about the amount of extra time played today, unlike the drawn game against Clare. Some lads will always see themselves as being the victim.
Galway are a great team, but for 65 minutes today ye were cat. The ref made some dodgy calls but was not the reason for the result

Ban (Westmeath) - Posts: 1415 - 19/08/2018 21:27:41    2134541

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Replying To Ban:  "Not too many Galway lads complaining about the amount of extra time played today, unlike the drawn game against Clare. Some lads will always see themselves as being the victim.
Galway are a great team, but for 65 minutes today ye were cat. The ref made some dodgy calls but was not the reason for the result"
Agreed. That was frankly one of the most frustrating Galway performances I've seen; the number of wides and unforced errors was shocking. The heads clearly haven't been in the right place, yet we still made it to the final, so there's a silver lining there somewhere!

But I have no intention of taking away from Limerick who were tremendous through-out and as a result deserved and worthy winners.

festinog (Galway) - Posts: 3097 - 20/08/2018 01:14:51    2134595

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If ye are complaining about owens as an intercounty ref you should see him reffing club games!!!

Jeez its like the polar opposite blowing for the least touch at all in a club game with intercounty games being let flow!!

I dont have much time for him tbh, had a couple of run ins but to be fair thought he done a decent job yesterday, totally made mistakes as every ref will but overall on the county scene hes probably been one of the best this year.

tearintom (Wexford) - Posts: 1326 - 20/08/2018 09:27:20    2134630

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funny you say that tearintom,i always said dickie murphy was a better inter county referee than club.
but sure look,it is an almost impossible job.

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 20/08/2018 11:14:30    2134658

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I think James Owen did well yesterday... he let the game flow well and the injuries in the second half were fairly serious and he had to play the extra time of 8 announced and another one on top of that. I think he got the calls right and only once was hawkeye called on...

The players responded well and were not in his face often. One or two minor quibbles for either side but on balance he did well.

carlowman (Carlow) - Posts: 1819 - 20/08/2018 15:14:02    2134856

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Replying To galwayford:  "Mr Owens gives his time to the GAA, well done to him for this. But I hope he has reffed his last Galway game, for a while."
well there is no galway game till next february so he probably has.but if you are blaming him for losing the game,you are wrong.

suckvalleypaddy,fair play for giving an honest view.

i thought james owens did well,a couple of decisions here and there but i seen shane stapleton say yesterday,who can define a tackle in hurling?

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 21/08/2018 08:44:24    2135132

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