By Irishexaminer.com,Pj Browne
Copyright irishexaminer
“People, people can be very parochial. I see no other walk of life where it is okay to abuse an individual and have no repercussions.”
Cawley admitted that there were “probably two” decisions he made in the All-Ireland final that in hindsight were harsh. He chose not to identify either. The Sarsfields man added that Gaelic football’s new rules have been “absolutely fantastic” .
“I think players now, that little bit of respect has increased,” he said.
“They’re courteous, they’re asking the questions and they know then once the question is asked and answered, that’s the end of it because there’s big jeopardy now with the penalties and the sanctions for that.
“Similarly, I refereed a senior championship match in Kildare last week and my two linesmen couldn’t believe how quiet the sidelines were in a big knockout game.”
Cawley said that commentary on social media, where moments in games are often “slowed down to within an inch of their life” can be “a challenge”.
“I would talk to David Gough and Sean Hurson on a Monday morning about our games,” he said.
“We would review all our games. And if between us all we can’t identify something, well then, you know, it’s not realistic.
“But if there is an instance in a game that is maybe a little bit controversial, we will look back in it afterwards and we will review and we will look at it as improvement if we’ve got it wrong and hope to not get it wrong the next time.
“However, with regards to the abuse. Sometimes there can be unnecessary commentary or focus on a referee. Some people build platforms on constantly being negative towards referees.
“You just have to try and block out the noise, and not let insignificant people annoy you. I would go off social media, even my own WhatsApp the day before a game to keep my mind fresh, my mind focused. And then I wouldn’t be looking at it, wouldn’t be checking what they say about me, wouldn’t be checking the commentary.
“Now I have plenty of friends that would be searching my name on Twitter or whatever the case may be to see what was said. Good, good fellas, and they’d always share it with you.”
