IFA president Conrad Kirkwood accepts there's 'room for improvement' in supporting referees

Irish FA president Conrad Kirkwood accepts there is "always room for improvement" when it comes to supporting referees.

Match officials have been thrust under an unforgiving spotlight recently with a number of Premiership managers hitting out following some high-profile errors.

NI Football League CEO Gerard Lawlor recently said support was needed for referees, while Warrenpoint Town boss Barry Gray said he fears more may walk away from the game due to heightened scrutiny and ongoing flak.

Speaking as the IFA published its new five-year strategy document on Thursday entitled ‘A Roadmap For Football – Irish FA Corporate Strategy 2022-27', Kirkwood said: "I see things have come to a head recently, and there is always room for improvement.

"There are a few things we have been looking into. Firstly, post-Covid there has been a strange phenomenon, and it's not particular to Northern Ireland, that a number of referees were lost to the game. They didn't come back.

"What we have done is that we have tried to recruit more referees and we are at the point where we have parity to what we had two years ago. We have had an influx of about 130 new referees.

"There is a challenge in training them and identifying those who have a future higher up the structure. There is the development of those referees, and the women's and intermediate level, and then we have our elite referees and we have to support them going forward."

Kirkwood also says there needs to be respect for referees, and likewise from officials to managers and players.

He believes better communication would help improve what has often been a thorny relationship on and off the pitch.

"People will talk about respect for referees, which is very important, and there has to be