"I think we've gone overboard on rule changes"
June 25, 2021
Mayo manager James Horan during his side's clash against Clare at Cusack Park
Mayo boss James Horan believes some of the rule changes implemented ahead of this season “have been reactionary” and haven’t worked.
Following the mark in 2020, new penalty and sin-bin rules were introduced for this season and received some criticisms through the recent Allianz League campaign.
Speaking to RTE Sport ahead of his side’s Connacht SFC opener against Sligo tomorrow (throw-in 4.30pm), Horan is worried that the new rules will ultimately end up deciding some games.
"I think we’ve gone overboard on rule changes, I think some of them have been reactionary and some of them in my opinion haven’t worked," he said.
"The advanced mark, the penalty rule, will that throw up a few things in the Championship? It probably will. You’d hate for games to be decided on some of those rule changes.
"I don’t know where or how [the rules] are generated or what’s the science behind some of them, or what’s the intended benefit of some of them.
"I said this before and I keep saying it, and even a couple of years ago when there was an awful lot of shouting that the game was too defensive or too cynical – the game evolves itself naturally at a high level.”
He continued: "I think Gaelic football is in the healthiest shape it’s possibly been ever in, with the highest standard. Just look at the league campaigns we’ve just had and some of the games in that with the standard and the scoring rates.
"I’m not sure we need to mess with some of the rules that we are."
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