In his introduction to his Irish Times column today, Darragh Ó Sé recounts a story that illustrates the lengths that some people are willing to go to give their club a helping hand.

It involves an intercounty referee who had perfected the art of thieving O'Neill's from cash rich county teams.

"I fell in with him one time talking away about everything and nothing and I asked him what his club was," writes the former Kerry great. 

"And he told me with a sort of a haunted look about him. 'Ah Christ Darragh, the thing has my heart broken. We're only a small club so everything is a struggle. It's gone that bad that I'm stealing footballs for them.'

"What do you mean, stealing footballs? Who are you stealing them from?

"'The counties. Kerry, Dublin, whoever I'm reffing'."

So, how did he get away with it?

"Apparently, the trick is to do it at half-time. At full-time, the teams have kitmen who come looking for the match ball but at half-time, the ref takes the ball away with him down the tunnel. So as you're about to blow the whistle, you go over to whoever has the ball and take it from them.

"Then you head down into the referee's dressing room and stick it in your bag. You come back out then for the second half and stand out in midfield waiting for the teams and when it comes to the time, you look around and go, 'Christ lads, has nobody a ball? Are we going to play this game or not?'. So one of the teams kicks you out a new ball and you're away in a hack."

County kit men throughout the country will be on red alert from this weekend on!

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