The chairman of the GAA's medical, scientific and welfare committee Ger Ryan insists that a red card for helmet interference is a just sanction.

Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald labelled Podge Collin's dismissal for pulling David Redmond's faceguard during Sunday's Qualifier against Wexford in Ennis as "a joke", but Ryan has countered that medical evidence shows that interference with a player's helmet can cause contrecoup - a brain injury which occurs as a result of damage to the brain on the opposite side to the initial blow"

"Of course I stand behind this rule, as does my committee," Ryan confirms in The Irish Examiner.

"We feel the rule is necessary. The rule was recommended to address the risk of serious injury and in particular, contrecoup type injuries.

"The advice from the medical people on our committee was that interference with a helmet could potentially cause contrecoup.

"It was with that risk in mind and in terms of injury prevention why I believe Congress accepted the motion to move this from a yellow to a red card offence." Tweet

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