IFA president Tim Cullinan said at an Oireachtas agriculture committee meeting on nitrates last week that the IFA is looking for a yellow card system when it comes to compliance, “whereby inspectors will work with farmers”.

This is where the referee Fergal Horgan, known for letting the game flow, came into it. ICMSA president Pat McCormack brought him into the fold around the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advice Programme (ASSAP), saying that if everyone is giving out about the referee on a Monday morning after a match, well then something isn’t right.

“You know that the referee flashing a yellow card, a red card or a black card is not the way to go. In hurling Fergal Horgan is regarded as one of the best referees out there, and he does not flash cards.

“He tries to work with the players and to talk to them on the field. I am relating that to the ASSAP, which I outlined earlier and which involves co-operation and working together to try to improve things.”

As someone who has received many a yellow card on the pitch ... The Dealer couldn’t agree with McCormack more.