Noelie back? I thought he'd retired at the start of the year?
He’s the talking point after a lot of games he refs. Never a good sign.
There is no mention of Noelie in the match report on the online Echo. Are people mistaking another player for him?
It was ridiculous. A thought that went through my head but probably pure rubbish. Bermingham may have not wanted a penalty shootout because he'd be late for the Clyda Rovers v Knocknagree game to which he was doing linesman for and his linesman Pa O' Driscoll was reffing. I left Mallow straight after the extra time and made it to the Páirc at 6:55pm and Bermingham and O' Driscoll were there before me. Delay the game in Cork by 15 minutes if they had to.
Absolute rubbish talk from the very top. While I was at the game myself and have no doubt that it was a free at the very least, to suggest that this was the reason that Birmingham left it go is just absolute madness. No wonder they are struggling for new recruits in the Referees circle here in Cork with comments like that!
It was just a thought that went through my head. Probably rubbish I know. Another thing, the fact that they had to rush from Mallow to Páirc Uí Chaoimh shows that a) there is a shortage of refs or b) the board putting both the ref and linesman under pressure to make both games.
