He has backed him!

The Cork manager spoke passionately about the state of hurling and how it is officiated, and was critical of how referees are assessed by the GAA's men in the stand.

He argued: “A fella above sitting in the stand, and he telling the referee, you didn't do that, you didn't do that. Ticking boxes, that's what it is, ticking boxes, and we're refereeing games by numbers now, that's what it is. And the referee is so worried about, ‘I won't get a game again for the rest of the year, I have to tick the boxes’.

“The best Munster final in memory for the last few years was Clare and Limerick [in 2022]. John Keenan refereed it, wasn't it? So John Keenan obviously didn't do what he was supposed to do that day. Everyone said after what a great day out John Keenan had, brilliant match, brilliantly refereed, and he got no more matches after that.” 

In response to this, Fergal Horgan - a three-time All-Ireland final referee - agreed with O'Connor, and called for changes in the personnel who assess and 'mentor' refs.

He said: “Ben was very legitimate in his remarks. I think there are a lot of people refereeing to the man in the stand, they are trying to play it safe and do a tick-the-box exercise. Referees should be let referee the match the way they see fit, and analyse it then the Monday morning after with one or two former referees who are their mentor.

“Consistency only comes with experience. It is very easy to be consistent when you know you are going to get the games. Fellas become inconsistent when they’re worried about what is going to happen after this latest match.

“A mentor will pick up the phone for half an hour on a Monday morning, and he’ll go through the match with the referee and help him find improvement. And then let the mentor pass informed opinion back to Croke Park, he’ll tell them, ‘this fella has what it takes, but needs more experience and needs to be doing the big games regularly’.”