Fergal Horgan is the latest high-profile ex-referee to lay blame squarely at the door of Croke Park over the inconsistency in how hurling is being policed. A day on from Brian Gavin’s comments in the Irish Examiner that a lack of Croke Park leadership is short-changing hurling referees, Horgan has called on GAA top brass to “get rid of the assessor in the stand” and bring in former referees to mentor the current crop. The three-time All-Ireland hurling final referee said Ben O’Connor was spot on with his “refereeing by numbers” claim, accusing Croke Park of burying their head on the issue. Horgan said Croke Park’s refereeing committees are filled with individuals who “know nothing about refereeing or how to referee”. Referees should be let referee the match the way they see fit, and analyse it then the Monday morning after with one or two former referees who are their mentor,” Horgan began.

Source: Irish Examiner February 11, 2026 18:30 UTC