Now that the dust has settled (not too well down here obviously!!) on another year of Gaelic Games action, I'm just wondering what people think are the big issues which have come to light,that we need to have sorted out before we all get back on the roller coaster for 2016

Personally I think there is a few things that need to urgently be addressed:

1) Players and Management teams at inter-county level to accept/be forced to accept when bans/suspensions are handed down.

This has been an issue for a while, but it has gotten to ridiculous levels during the last weeks of the championship: The McCann and Connolly incidents and now confirmation that Dublin will appeal McMahon's ban.

Its about time the GAA stands firm and insists on such bans being upheld. Rules should be brought in that if a player appeals, he runs the risk of his ban being substantially increased. This madness must end!

2) Very much related to the first, the GAA's disciplinary and appeals procedure must be streamlined. Its a joke you can go to 3 separate bodies to overturn a referee's decision.

Like in rugby, there should be a citing officer in place who reviews all incidents in all games on a Monday and makes recommendations. Players and teams can only approach one body, sitting the following day, to hear the case.
Again they should run the risk of the ban being extended for not accepting fair punishment.

3) The Black Card.

There needs to be a major training program conducted for referee's over the winter to spell out exactly when/where this card is used and an insistence from the referee overview committee for the new season that the correct use is being made of it by individual referee's in their performance evaluations.

If not, then it should be ditched altogether because I can't see what difference it has made to cutting out the cynicism infecting our games.

4) Match Officials:

There needs to be structures put in place to select competent umpires along the same lines as referee's and linesmen.

Linesmen and umpires need to be miked up to the referee and given the power to draw the referee's attention to incidents.

5) Time Keeping: The All Ireland final took the biscuit. The Official on the sideline needs to be given responsibility for accurate timekeeping.

Either that or the clock should be stopped when out of play and a hooter system introduced.

A max time limit to take free-kicks to be introduced, if a player goes over it results in a hop-ball. Persistent delaying leading to a yellow card.

There's just a few of my own thoughts, I'd like also to see new rules trialed to encourage more kick passing and high fielding (perhaps involving a limit on the handpass or only allowing the four midfield players to remain in the center of the pitch for kick-outs, with kick outs having to travel a minimum distance etc.)

TheHermit (Kerry) - Posts: 6354 - 02/10/2015 14:08:08    1795191

Point 5 would be my main concern

DoireCityFC (Derry) - Posts: 1580 - 02/10/2015 14:15:15    1795194

Agree with all you've just said hermit.

On the point of the umpires, Ones that have a set of stones and will bring the refs attention to off the ball rubbish would be nice.

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13650 - 02/10/2015 14:30:07    1795201

I think reducing the number of umpires behind each goal from 2 to 1, making them an official like the referee with the ability to refer a score/decision to hawkeye, would improve the standard of umpiring.

As it stands, Paddy looks at Mick as it was nearer Mick's side of the goal and they leave it to each other to call the ref.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6480 - 02/10/2015 14:43:45    1795207

slayer
County: Limerick
Posts: 5670

1795207
I think reducing the number of umpires behind each goal from 2 to 1, making them an official like the referee with the ability to refer a score/decision to hawkeye, would improve the standard of umpiring.

As it stands, Paddy looks at Mick as it was nearer Mick's side of the goal and they leave it to each other to call the ref.


Slayer: I really like the suggestion to reduce the number of umpires to 1 - but limit the role to a) Square ball b) illegal off the ball activity. A more radical move could be to give the umpire the ability to give yellow and red card for serious infractions ( similar to American football).

With regard to hawkeye - why cannot it operate for every attempt at goal (goal/point) without the need for the dramatic and time consuming graphics for Ta/nil. It could give the verdict in the same amount of time as it takes for the umpires to run for get the flags to wave.

Thirdly, similar to Ladies GAA - introduce the countdown timer and hooter for the end of each half

ExiledCuCu (Cavan) - Posts: 226 - 02/10/2015 16:05:21    1795241

1) Players and Management teams at inter-county level to accept/be forced to accept when bans/suspensions are handed down.
Not in agreement here. Everyone should have the right to appeal but no getting off on technicalities.


2) Very much related to the first, the GAA's disciplinary and appeals procedure must be streamlined. Its a joke you can go to 3 separate bodies to overturn a referee's decision.

Like in rugby, there should be a citing officer in place who reviews all incidents in all games on a Monday and makes recommendations. Players and teams can only approach one body, sitting the following day, to hear the case.
Again they should run the risk of the ban being extended for not accepting fair punishment.

I like this one.

3) The Black Card.

There needs to be a major training program conducted for referee's over the winter to spell out exactly when/where this card is used and an insistence from the referee overview committee for the new season that the correct use is being made of it by individual referee's in their performance evaluations.

If not, then it should be ditched altogether because I can't see what difference it has made to cutting out the cynicism infecting our games.

Black card needs to go and be replaced with a 10 minute sin bin for all deliberate fouls (others like jersey pull, sliding tackle, push in the back, foot block, knee in the back when jumping for a ball should be added to current list of sins)

4) Match Officials:

There needs to be structures put in place to select competent umpires along the same lines as referee's and linesmen.

Linesmen and umpires need to be miked up to the referee and given the power to draw the referee's attention to incidents.

Role and selection of umpires needs to be changed. Umpire should be referees or trainee referees (not refs cousins/mates/local lunatic) who know the rules and will watch for off the ball antics.

5) Time Keeping: The All Ireland final took the biscuit. The Official on the sideline needs to be given responsibility for accurate timekeeping.

Either that or the clock should be stopped when out of play and a hooter system introduced.

Hooter system as per ladies football would do fine, how the ladies can pull it off but the men cant is beyond me. U12's club basketball can manage it ffs.

A max time limit to take free-kicks to be introduced, if a player goes over it results in a hop-ball. Persistent delaying leading to a yellow card.
We already have this it just isn't enforced (except once on can remember on Cillian O Connor)

There's just a few of my own thoughts, I'd like also to see new rules trialed to encourage more kick passing and high fielding (perhaps involving a limit on the handpass or only allowing the four midfield players to remain in the center of the pitch for kick-outs, with kick outs having to travel a minimum distance etc.)
Joe Brolly suggested a system of kick out travelling a minimum of 45m with only 4 midfielders allowed stand between the 45's. Definitly worth a try in the league (Dubs won't like this one though).

Excellent suggestions. Football was in danger of slipping fast behind other sports unless the slide in overall administration of games is stopped.just a few additions
1. TMO or if technology not available(increasingly unlikely)a 2nd ref in good vantage for club championship for championship in communication with ref on field. This would in time encourage more people to take up refereeing as they would be less open to blame game.
2. Any solution for how umpires can get over a disadvantage they have in that it is imperative that they keep their eye up at the posts making it unlikely that they would have sight of an incident right in front of them.

Ashrules (Dublin) - Posts: 518 - 02/10/2015 16:36:05    1795250

Couldn't read my own posts there what with all the bold letters

Point 1
Not in agreement here. Everyone should have the right to appeal but no getting off on technicalities.


Point 2
I like this one.

3) The Black Card.
Black card needs to go and be replaced with a 10 minute sin bin for all deliberate fouls (others like jersey pull, sliding tackle, push in the back, foot block, knee in the back when jumping for a ball should be added to current list of sins)

4) Match Officials:
Role and selection of umpires needs to be changed. Umpire should be referees or trainee referees (not refs cousins/mates/local lunatic) who know the rules and will watch for off the ball antics.

5) Time Keeping:
Hooter system as per ladies football would do fine, how the ladies can pull it off but the men cant is beyond me. U12's club basketball can manage it ffs.

A max time limit to take free-kicks to be introduced, if a player goes over it results in a hop-ball. Persistent delaying leading to a yellow card.
We already have this it just isn't enforced (except once on can remember on Cillian O Connor)

There's just a few of my own thoughts, I'd like also to see new rules trialed to encourage more kick passing and high fielding (perhaps involving a limit on the handpass or only allowing the four midfield players to remain in the center of the pitch for kick-outs, with kick outs having to travel a minimum distance etc.)
Joe Brolly suggested a system of kick out travelling a minimum of 45m with only 4 midfielders allowed stand between the 45's. Definitly worth a try in the league (Dubs won't like this one though).

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1106 - 02/10/2015 17:53:05    1795270

I like the sin-bin idea. It really needs to come in for hurling more so. Hurling games are littered with cynical play. Way more than football in my opinion.

The timekeeping issue is also a good idea.

Let's be more like rugby in both of these. No shame in taking positive points from other sports and incorporating them.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 02/10/2015 21:11:37    1795326

A consistent and transparent process for the use of retrospective action with any suspensions proportionate and stand up to scrutiny. As things stand we saw an incident in a game where a player stamped and was not pulled up yet a player is given an 8 week ban for a yellow card offence.

A set of professional referees, with 2 referees for all county championship matches.

Referees and officials to grow a set and yellow card just the player who starts a wrestling match off the ball.

This ludicrous situation of goalkeepers taking over a minute to come up and kick a wide to be sorted.

6 substitutions on each team is too many. There should either be a rolling substitution or cut the numbers back.

MB1 (Tyrone) - Posts: 360 - 03/10/2015 09:19:33    1795357

I like most of your points.

The disciplinary procedures need to be improved. The Connelly situation was a farce that I'm not aware of happening in other sports. Rugby in my mind is by a distance the best sport with regards disciplinary matters we should copy them as much as possible.

The Black Card Rule was in theory good. In practice it has been bad. If it's because referees don't understand the rules properly then the sin bin would have the same problem. I think in a lot of cases though it's that the referee doesn't want to expel a player from the rest of the game for something that warrants a black card so they issue a yellow instead. That really bugs me and I think that's where the problem is with the rule. It's a very strict penalty on the individual and probably not strict enough on his team who get to bring on a replacement. The sin bin would help this, 10 minutes in the bin for cynical and dangerous fouls. Team gets properly punished but it's not so harsh on the individual player. It could also make the game more interesting tactically. Do teams change their setup to account for the numbers change.

I'm very in favour of there being a time limit on how long a free can take.

I'm very in favour of a stopped clock time approach with time keeping taken out of the referees hands.

I'm very much against any rules to look limit where players are on the pitch during kick outs, or that forces kicks to a certain distance. I like that our game is evolving and I don't think the curse of the hand pass is as bad as the likes of Pat Spillane would have you believe. I think the game is way better than it was. All the top teams look to play kick passes when they're available. They also appreciate the importance of possession and don't kick the ball away if it's not on. In my eyes the worst thing to look at is when 2 teams keep kicking ball away needlessly. There was plenty of long kicking going on in the All Ireland final and it was dire to watch.

Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 4217 - 03/10/2015 10:17:45    1795371

Can posters clarify if they are talking about just inter-county competitions or are these rules to apply to all gaelic football games, because a number of these rules don't look very practical at club level. Hopefully this rugby world cup will kill any idea of TMO in our games.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 03/10/2015 11:29:29    1795391

I think a big thing that needs to change for next year is that no team should get to play in crokepark till the quarter final , it's a massive advantage to Dublin to get to play and train there all the time, the GAA have to level the playing field so to speak.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 03/10/2015 13:14:08    1795425