TENNIS RULES FOR SHINTY?

Tennis star David Nalbandian hit the headlines for the wrong reasons at the weekend after a line judge was injured at Aegon Championships final at Queen's club.
The Argentinian player, performing well and a set up at the time, all of a sudden found himself facing a break point in the second set - when he inexplicably kicked a panel in front of line judge Andrew McDougall's seat, injuring him in the process.

This show of temper got him disqualified. It cost him the the chance to close out the match, win the title and become (I understand) the first South American to win a major grass court title.

What the dickens (or words to that effect) I hear you say, has this got to do with shinty? This website is called Shintyfan, after all.

Well, it got me thinking. Never a good thing...


I have witnessed, in recent seasons, a noticeable decline in the ability of shinty players across the board to control their behaviour. For many teams - but, I hasten to add, not all - demonstrations of petulance and Nalbandian-style bad temper are commonplace and a constant bugbear for long-suffering referees.

Regularly, these volunteer officials - who do this for pleasure or out of love for the sport, remember - are subjected to abuse by players. On very much more rare occasions, thankfully, this spills over into physical contact in some form.

A similar level of abuse is hurled towards (again, entirely voluntary) goal judges in many games at all levels.

A wee bit of humour goes a long way...

Now, before you go thinking that I'm being all holier-than-thou over this issue, let me tell you that I played for decades and always had a mouth on me. Didn't say an awful lot off the pitch, but always had a driving will to win (and, in my decrepitude, it's still there - can't even let my wee girl win at draughts without  it being through gritted teeth. And more often than not these days she's beating me fair and square...but anyway). My team mates thought I was a pain in the backside, but I hated the sight of anyone failing to compete as hard and as well as they could.

I shouted, but I like to think it was rarely directed at refs, and not really too far over-the-top. I never remember using the language I hear at high volume punctuating every match. Alright, I swore, but today it's gone beyond a joke.

Let me also say that I've played a lot of shinty; seen even more games; and I was brought up in a shinty playing family.

A spot of dancing - but should refs have more sanctions?

With the caveat that (like playing) refereeing is a lot more difficult than it appears from the sidelines, I look at some referees and, quite honestly, I wonder if they've ever seen a game of shinty before. Some think they're refereeing hockey, while others are more interested in arguing with bystanders than stamping their authority on proceedings.


It's a hard, thankless, lonely job, though, and I admire the guys who put themselves through the mill week-in, week-out all in the name of amateur sport.

It can be hard for players when they are pulled up for fouls that were seen only by the referee, or who might be on the receiving end of foul play that goes unnoticed by the whistler. None of this - in any way - excuses the abuse of match officials.

The behaviour of some players this season has been ridiculous - spoilt-boy petulance at its worst. I've said previously that I cringe when players are hurling obscenities at the top of their voices just yards from spectators that include children - and many others who came along expecting to see shinty, not to watch petulant tantrums.

A prude I am not (despite appearances), but this just spoils the game for onlookers, and it's reached the stage that I think twice about going to watch some matches, particularly if I have my family with me.

Refs and goal judges are, beyond question, critical to the sport. 

Arguably they have the tools to keep matters under control themselves. The first step is to warn the mouthy player. If he persists, or breaks the rules in another way, book him or send him packing.

All fine and well, but if they cannot manage to stamp their authority on shinty matches, why not add a third layer of sanction?

Harking back to the Nalbandian situation, why not take the team manager of the transgressing player(s) aside and let them know in clear and simple terms that if his/her player(s) cannot control their behaviour, the match will be abandoned and points forfeit? In cup games this might even result in automatic disqualification.

Another, perhaps less contentious, option might be to follow the rugby union example and move the location from where a free-hit is to be taken by ten yards further forward, or award a penalty hit (or even a penalty score) for repeated backchat or foul play.

Might shut them up.

But let's not forget that, in the final analysis, it is just a game...

What do you think?