"We had something that worked for 132 years, there were never any issues"
December 28, 2020
Cork's Patrick Horgan scores a penalty. ©INPHO/Brian Reilly-Troy.
Nine-time All-Ireland winner Tommy Walsh says penalty shoot-outs in the GAA “have to go” as soon as it's possible.
Speaking on Off The Ball, Walsh said he understood the reason for using shoot-outs in 2020 to decide games on the day but reckons they should be done away with once there’s a return to normality.
“They have to go!” he said. “The way I look at it is, you get to a county final in say under 14, you are from a small club, a club that hasn’t been used to making finals.
“Your son is on the team, it is 5-4, your son has the penalty to draw or possibly to win it. He misses it and your team lose. How heart-breaking will that be?
“We have rivals over the road, Ballycallan. It is a huge rivalry at times. I wouldn’t even like to see one of them miss a penalty to lose a match!
“I would rather it go to extra time or a replay and let the best team win.”
He added: “We had something that worked for 132 years, there were never any issues. I understand the pandemic came in so we needed to do something to finish it on the day, but as soon as it is safe to do so, get rid of the penalty shootouts.”
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