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Ray Silke: TMO would only be suitable for 'big matches' in the GAA

Former Galway player Ray Silke has said that he would agree with the introduction of a television...



Ray Silke: TMO would only be s...
Football

Ray Silke: TMO would only be suitable for 'big matches' in the GAA

Former Galway player Ray Silke has said that he would agree with the introduction of a television match official, but that it would need to be 'road tested' first. 

Demands for the implementation of such a measure grew appreciably this week after Mayo's Aidan O'Shea was awarded a penalty after diving during the second half of their qualifier meeting with Fermanagh.

The Director General of the GAA, Páraic Duffy weighed in on the debate during the week by saying that a TMO would be difficult to manage in the game. His thesis questioned the limits of the system and pointed out that there would be a temptation among referees to lean on a TMO for any contentious call during a gam, leading to a disruption in the flow of matches.

Speaking on Newstalk's Lunchtime show, Silke argued that a TMO would have a use in higher profile games, but agreed with Duffy's argument about policing it. 

"Particularly for the big games, I think it would be beneficial. But I can see a lot of difficulties from a logistical point of view. A lot of games aren't live and they don't have cameras, so I think it would make it quite inconsistent in the inter-county championships."

He added that the positive effect of a TMO in rugby should not come into the debate, as it has a different dynamic compared with the GAA.

"I think Duffy made one or two good points. Rugby has a lot of set plays and it's a more technical game.

"It would have to be road tested to a certain degree. You also have to ask if the GAA would be better off investing in more Gaelic promotion officers at club level and in schools, because on the ground a lot of clubs are suffering enormously. The inter-county game has become the be all of Gaelic Games, and I don't think that's a good thing for the association."

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