To sledge or not to sledge

The way it is......with ANTHONY MOYLES

Call it what you like - sledging, personal abuse, goading - but it was seen in spades throughout the Donegal v Tyrone Ulster SFC game last week. 

Now before I go on, I fully admit that this particular type of tactic is not exclusive to Tyrone. Donegal dished out plenty of abuse to certain Tyrone players and are no shrinking violets when it comes to this aspect of the modern game, but I truly believe that this particular trend in Gaelic football is very much an Ulster thing and most certainly a part of Tyrone’s recent make up.
This tactic has been recently been deployed by Tyrone teams at various age levels. Only a few weeks ago the Tipperary under-21 management team took exception to some of the personal abuse that was being given to their players during the All Ireland u-21 FC final.
They denied the Tyrone boss Fergal Logan entry to their dressing room after the game and pointed towards a level of cynicism that, although they thought they had prepared for, they could not handle. Logan said that at no time was his team coached to be cynical or told to “sledge”. Pull the other one Fergal!
So what we are to believe is that these young lads are taking it upon themselves to delve into Facebook and other social media sites to gain personal knowledge of a rival’s personal life.
Maybe this is true, but if they are being encouraged by other areas of influence it has to be STOPPED.
I very rarely experienced this type of stuff during my inter-county career.
Within Leinster it very rarely happened and even when I played against Ulster teams I just remember the games being very tough, but fair affairs.
I played numerous time for example against the Armagh team of Bellew, McGeeney, McCrae etc who would never shirk from the physical battle, but very little verbal abuse occurred if any.
The odd time there would be flash points during a game, but I never ever had a constant deluge of abuse being directed towards me for a full 70 minutes. To be honest I do not know how I would have reacted.
My Father used to always tell me not to talk to opposition players. Shake hands at the start and then get on with it. If a player is talking to you or abusing you, he always maintained he was more scared of you and you would get a chance to sort it out on the pitch. I have to say he was mostly right.
Now maybe I did not get much verbal abuse because of that fact. I would not stand for it and if a player wanted to go down that road with me, well then fair game. Or maybe I did not get much because it just did not really go on.
Every team had a 'mouth’ or two and in many cases even their own teammates would get frustrated by their constant moaning and giving out, but the game has changed over the last few years.
Taking the law into your own hands is like walking a tight rope. There is so much emphasis on discipline with three different card colours and linesmen, umpires, referees and even TV cameras potentially able to catch any indiscretion.
Also what has changed is the knowledge that games are now won on very small margins and if a team is reduced to 14 men the chance of them winning the game greatly reduces.
This I believe is the main reason behind this type of sledging tactic. It is not about getting a psychological advantage over your opposite player, but is more about eliciting a response.
The more you can 'get under a players skin’, the higher the potential for him/her to strike out. If they strike out, make sure you make a scene about it and hopefully the result will be a red card. Advantage your team and away you go.
Of course how better to elicit a response than to abuse a player in a very specific and personal way. Say things about his wife, girlfriend, employment status, sexual orientation - the list goes on. All of the above has been used and will continue to be used if not stopped.
Now people can say that 'all is fair in love and war’ and that this is just part and parcel of the game now, but I disagree.
It is nasty and if it continues it will be like a cancer in the game. The GAA must get ahead of the curve on this and stamp it out. It is very difficult for a referee to see or hear all of what is going on during a game.
Take the Tyrone Donegal game for example. Joe McQuillan would have required eyes not only in the back of his head, but also the sides, to see everything that was going on.
Certain players from both sides abused each other continuously throughout the game. Every free kick was complained about, every big tackle was given out about and if there was a chance of an opposition player receiving a card there was an onus on players to be as hysterical as possible about the infringement in order to confuse or panic Joe.
One man officiating over all of that and trying to keep the game flowing. Best of luck!
I have spoken before about how the game is continuously developing. This is a nasty development, but much like in soccer, were players feign injury, dive and remonstrate with referees to punish players, this has to be stamped out.
Referees need more assistance and at the very least all of the linesmen, umpires and independent officials should be miked up and in constant communication with the referee.
Maybe it is time for two referees. This way the whole field could be covered no matter where the ball was and if a player was verbally abusing another there will be a better chance of some official picking up on it.
A few high profile examples need to be made and players need to know it will not be tolerated. Rules do not need to be changed as one of the black card misdemeanours is 'to use abusive or provocative language or gestures to players’.
It’s about time it was implemented properly and then hopefully teams will not have to learn this side of the game and instead concentrate on what makes the game great.