Martin Breheny: Holes aplenty in HQ's rusty argument
MAY I wholeheartedly disagree with Croke Park's match official manager Pat Doherty in his assessment of why more yellow cards are issued at this time of year than later on?
He blames it on rustiness among players, saying: "They are coming off winter training. Some of them will have had only one or two competitive games since last August or earlier. There is a greater degree of pulling and dragging -- that is the reality."
Yes, players are rusty but what of referees, not to mention assessors, and their traditional early-season zeal?
Also, if Doherty's argument is solid, how come that the early rounds of the championship (by which stage players are up to full speed) are usually accompanied by complaints from players and managers that referees are more strict than later in the campaign?
- Martin Breheny
Irish Independent
