The GAA has launched its experimental playing rules which comes into effect at inter-county level on January 1, with Disciplinary Task Force chairman Liam O'Neill warning that there will be "casualties" of the new system. The Laois man revealed a radical plan at Croke Park yesterday aimed at cleaning up the games. Players receiving one yellow card will be sent to the line in the pre-season competitions in a major departure from the 'two yellows and you're out' ruled employed in recent years. Under the new regulations, players who are yellow carded will be replaced by a substitute. Black cards, which can lead to yellows, have also been introduced to combat persistent fouling. As with existing rules, a straight red will still result in a player leaving the field and his team being reduced to 14 players. "Players will be yellow-carded in the pre-season tournaments," said O'Neill, whose task force has spent the last 18 months working on the new rules. "There will be casualties. There is no doubt about that. They will revert to default positions but, hopefully, they will suffer for it. It will gradually dawn on our players. This will be self-regulating. We have never had players who are as bright or as educated as we have at the moment. None of those are going to want to leave the field of play." Under the new regulations, players awarded yellow cards will leave the field of play and will be replaced by a sub. Black cards, which can lead to yellows, have also been introduced to combat persistent fouling. As with existing rules, a straight red will still result in a player leaving the field and his team being reduced to 14 men. This is the second time in three years the GAA has attempted to tighten its on-field discipline, but the 'sinbin' experiment was dropped in 2006 despite statistics showing a decrease in fouls and cards and an increase in scores. If they are passed by Congress, then the new rules will be used in the 2009 championships. Tweet

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