THE GAME IS OFFICIALLY RUINED

All-ireland ref Sugrue reckons modern era is a bore and he would much rather watch hurling

FORMER All-ireland final referee Tommy Sugrue fears Gaelic football is ‘dying on its feet’.

The Kerry man, who took charge of four Allireland senior deciders including the 1992 final between Donegal and Dublin, reckons the game has been ‘ruined’ by short passing, short kick-outs and the advanced mark.

Speaking on The Time Out podcast in an episode dedicated to Donegal’s involvement in that 1992 final, Sugrue admitted he prefers to watch hurling over football now and claimed that it will take a ‘complete shake-up’ to redeem the big ball game.

Among the changes Sugrue favours are a rule insisting that kick-outs travel beyond the 45metre line, that the ball can’t be played backwards to inside the 21-metre line and that the advanced mark be scrapped.

“There should be a rule that the ball would pass the 50, it would do away with a lot of the short passing and kicking the ball out and it only barely trickling over the 21 and then it goes across the field and back over across the field. No, it’s dying on its feet really,” said Sugrue.

“It’s not attractive anymore to watch. It (the ball) shouldn’t go back behind the 21 either.

“You see, if you look back at the ‘92 All-ireland, it was pure football, it was all up and down the field, there was no such thing as passing the ball across the field or back or anything like that, it was pure, pure football, drive it up the field and let your man win possession then.

“It’s ruined actually, unless they have a really serious look at some of the rules.

“It really needs a complete shake-up to make the game attractive again because it’s hard watching it at the moment. And there’s no skill, the skill in the game has gone.

“You see fellas standing on the 21 line in front of the opposition goal and suddenly then he makes his way over to the corner flag, or he passes it back to some fella, it’s winning at all costs now. They’re under a lot of pressure and some people won’t take on that responsibility (to shoot).”

The retired whistler also took umbrage at the current implementation of the black card rule, noting the ‘mockery’ of teams cynically running down the clock when a player has been sinbinned for 10 minutes.

“I can’t understand why if there’s a stoppage in play (during that period) that the referee doesn’t raise his hand and the fourth official has a stopwatch on for 10 minutes,” said Sugrue (right).

“In every other sport it happens like that.

“Rugby is a classic example, when the referee stops the play the clock is stopped by the person that’s looking after the sin-bin as well and a person spends (the full) 10 minutes in it then, not three or four minutes as what’s happening because fellas are feigning injuries and things like that.”

Sugrue said he still watches games but finds hurling more enjoyable.

“It’s a pity the way it is at the moment because you’d prefer to watch a hurling match than a football match,” he said.

“Hopefully they might get a bit of sense in Croke Park.

“It won’t take much to change it really, a few small things and it would make the game a lot more enjoyable for people.”