Westmeath GAA’s Central Council Delegate, Tom Hunt is part of a group leading a change to hurling and football rules in an effort to tackle cynical play.
Tom Hunt, John Gleeson (Tipperary) and Ned Quinn (Kilkenny) succeeded in getting the motion included on the clár for this year’s GAA Congress on 27 February just when it seemed it would be postponed for consideration at a later debate.
The radical motion from the Rules Review Committee is designed to eliminate ‘Aggressive Disruptive Behaviour’ by players to prevent goal scoring opportunities. The proposed rule change is framed in the form of an Emergency Rule that will only operate in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling and Football Championships of 2021.
In simple terms, the motion proposes that if a team is denied a goal scoring opportunity, as a result of an aggressive infraction committed either inside or outside the large rectangle, a penalty will be awarded to the team affected.
This is the really radical part of the proposal as a penalty kick/puck will now be awarded when a goal scoring opportunity has been denied even if the foul was committed outside the large rectangle. The thinking behind the proposal is that the advantage denied to the team is restored by awarding the penalty. A period in the sin bin for the hurler or footballer committing the infraction is also part of the proposed rule change.
The issue of cynicism in Gaelic games has been a hot topic of discussion for many years, with the black card introduced in football in an effort to curb the problem. Sean Kavanagh’s tackle on Conor McManus in 2013 was the catalyst for such a change, but if the motion at this year’s GAA Congress is successful, it will go significantly further than just a black card.
Four-time All-Ireland hurling referee, Barry Kelly is also an advocate of trying to curb cynical play in the game.
“In hurling a cynical foul is either a pull down or a trip. Anything that prevents a clear goal scoring opportunity should result in a penalty, no matter where the foul occurs,” he opined.
“I recall when I was refereeing we were always told by Westmeath’s Pat Doherty to ‘protect the skillful player’. That’s a mantra in any sport. If the sport doesn’t protect the skillful player then it is a dereliction of duty on behalf of the referee. The rules at the moment don’t follow that.
“A skillful player who is trying to score a goal near the end of a game, because his team are losing, is brought down, but the yellow card produced to the opponent is of no benefit to the attacking team. If you stop your opponent from a clear goal scoring opportunity by fouling, anywhere on the pitch it should result in a penalty and ten minutes in the sin bin for the offending player,” he added.
“Hurling folk often say we don’t need a black card in hurling, but if that is so what is the harm in having it in the rule book then.”
The upcoming GAA Congress on 27 February will be historic for the fact that it will be held remotely (on-line) for the first time ever, owing to the Covid-19 restrictions. The extent of county representation has yet to be decided, but a truncated agenda is essential because of the challenges involved.
CHALLENGING 2021
Meanwhile, Westmeath GAA will be hoping that the 2021 championships can get the green light later in the summer. If not a financial crisis is looming as the GAA at central level is unlikely to be able to provide the same level of financial aid as last year, when €280,000 was received. There are five rounds of football championship planned and its hoped that supporters will be able to attend when they get underway in July or August.
