Referee David Coldrick calls for more support to combat abuse

This weekend the GAA will aim to implement their Respect the Referee campaign which aims to reinforce the message that the abuse of match officials will not be tolerated.

There have been several high-profile incidents recently where referees have suffered extreme forms of both verbal and physical abuse.

Just last weekend Wexford GAA handed down a 96-week ban to a club mentor involved in an alleged assault on referee in a Junior A club football championship game.

Meath referee David Coldrick has seen his fair share over the years.

The Blackhall Gaels club-man began refereeing as a teenager and quickly progressed to refereeing inter-county games. He refereed the 2005 Munster SFC final, a game which Kerry defeated Cork by a goal.

Coldrick was the man in the middle for that Galway-Armagh game, a classic which was overshadowed by a mass melee in which Coldrick sent both Aidan Nugent and Sean Kelly off.

Despite an enthralling encounter, the best game of a middling championship, Coldrick was thrusted into the spotlight. That limelight does not come easily.

"[That game] had the good, the bad and the ugly," said Coldrick.

"You don't just switch off, you do have the day job on the Monday, but it is actually always in your head for a couple of days afterwards."

"Disgusting. Scandalous. We can't hide behind this. We should be talking about a great game of football, and then they went and destroyed it." The #sundaygame panel react to scenes of striking and apparent eye-gouging in the aftermath of the full-time whistle in Croke Park. pic.twitter.com/gRWROHanpv

With the advent of social media, everyone has an opinion and everyone can express it. That can have damaging effects for those at the centre of the storm.

Education and mental health