A new study by Ulster University has revealed the shocking extent of referee abuse in Gaelic games.

Some 94% of referees surveyed had experienced verbal abuse, while 23% reported physical abuse.

Kilkenny-based referee and commentator Martin Quilty said he has experienced verbal abuse "a lot" in his 26 years of involvement in refereeing, "predominantly at under age".

"You're shook after it, I can tell you, for a couple of days."

Mr Quilty has had many first-hand experiences of abuse on the pitch as a referee.

"It's very frightening", he said. "You're shook after it, I can tell you, for a couple of days."

"My first experience was physical abuse when I was only 14. I had a parent come up and dig me in the back at an under-12 game."

"Parents can be really really irate and they get nearly too involved in games when their little Johnny or their Mary is playing."

Silent Sideline

Mr Quilty has thought about leaving refereeing "several times over" due to the abuse he's endured.

Castleknock Celtic coach Antonio Montero is the founder of the Silent Sideline campaign .

Silent Sideline is a weekend of sporting events where children can play without their parents being there to watch, comment or provide a "constant stream of instruction".

Mr Montero said it allows children to "move from mistake to mistake without even realising".

"The game just seems to flow much better for the children themselves", he said.

"It sends a strong message to the parents that they need to come down, absolutely support, be involved, but just stand back. They don't need to be verbalising and passing on their instruction or their abuse on the game."

"In most cases, a lot of parents haven't even played the sport themselves."

Policing sidelines

Mr Quilty thinks Silent Sidelines is "a great initiative", adding: "The problem is how do you police something like that."

Being the chairman of his club, Quilty said that if he told someone to stop abusing a referee "you're going to be told to f-off fairly quickly and to mind your own business".

This evening Shelbourne FC will play Bonagee, a match at which coach Cahill Doherty said abuse is guaranteed.

"Can we police every individual there? We cannot."

"There will be upwards of 700 people there. Can we police every individual there? We cannot."

"When you're watching a match, you like to be involved. And how you get involved is by being vocal. It's the same when you're on a football pitch", he said.

"It is part of the enjoyment but, again, it's the abuse element."

Main image shows a referee showing the red card. Image: STOCK4B GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo