By Randal Scally
The absence of crowds at sporting fixtures arising from the pandemic provided Ballinamere’s Kyle Waters with a gentle introduction to refereeing last year.
If there was an upside to COVID-19 for new referees, it was that they didn’t have to deal with the usual crowd reaction to decisions which can be unnerving and can take a bit of getting used to.
“I, for one, wasn’t unhappy about there being no crowds,” he admits.
“It was just me, the other match officials, the two teams and management. There was no background noise which was good for someone starting out as a referee. The concentration levels are better when there’s nobody shouting at you.“
