HANDPASS RESTRICTION WILL BE GAA’S TOP PRIORITY
RESTRICTING the handpass to three in one movement and insisting on kick-outs passing the 45-metre line are the most likely rule changes to be introduced in football from the suite of measures proposed by the GAA’s Playing Rules Committee.
It’s understood that limiting handpassing is the priority among the nine-strong committee, whose deliberations will now be considered by a wide range of interested parties, including players, coaches, referees and officials.
The GAA’s Management Committee and Central Council will then decide on which – if any – of the proposals will be trialled in next year’s Allianz Football League.
There are five proposed changes which, if implemented in their entirety, would dramatically alter the game at a time when there’s growing concern over decreasing entertainment levels.
In addition to limiting successive handpassing to three, it’s also proposed to extend the ‘mark’ to the attacking end, replacing black and yellow cards with a ‘sin bin’ sanction, insisting on all kick-outs passing the 45-metre line while restricting the number of players in the middle third and making it obligatory for sideline kicks to go forward, except those on, or inside, the opposition’s 13-metre line.
Difference
“It’s a lot to take in. Five changes would be too many, especially since some of them would make a very big difference to how the game is played. In fact, they would fundamentally alter the game as we know it,” said Tipperary manager Liam Kearns (pictured, below), who previously took charge of Limerick and Laois.
He has an open mind about most of the changes and believes that it’s impossible to assess how practical they are until applied in actual games.
He does not believe that they should apply to next year’s league and would instead prefer to see them trialled in pre-season provincial competitions.
“It’s one thing to see a rule change written down, but it’s only when you see how is actually works out in a game that you can make an informed judgement.
“There may be something very obvious that needs to be tweaked but you can’t do that once the league starts. You can’t start a competition with one set of rules and change it as you go along. The league is a very important competition and I don’t think it’s right to hit it with big changes. It would be much better to do it in pre-season competitions”, he said.
Former Roscommon All-Star Paul Earley, who was a member of the Football Review Committee (FRC) which undertook the last major rules review in 2012, broadly welcomed most of the proposed changes but, like Kearns, says they can only be properly judged when applied in match situations.
“Most of them are certainly quite radical. We can all visualise how the game might look with them but you can never be sure until such time as you see them in match situations,” he said.
He believes that it was necessary to address the handpassing issue, which is regarded as having had a seriously negative impact on the game’s entertainment value in recent years.
“It will be interesting to see how restricting it to three actually works out – assuming of course it’s approved. It’s a fundamental change but I think that in conjunction with the longer kick-outs, it could work quite well.
“It’s certainly worth looking at. There’s no point complaining about some aspect of the game and then doing nothing about it. On balance, I’d like to see this one get a chance,” he said.
The FRC stopped short of restricting the handpass in their report six years ago but warned that it needed to be closely monitored and addressed if it became more prevalent.
That has been very much the case in recent seasons, which is why the current review group are calling for a far-reaching response.
Earley favours the proposal to make it mandatory for all kick-outs to cross the 45-metre line, pointing out that shorter deliveries are a relatively new phenomenon and have resulted in far fewer contests for possession.
“It’s only in the last four years that the short kick-out has become so common. We (FRC) looked at kick-outs for our report and short ones weren’t a big issue at the time. That’s certainly not the case now.
“They cut down on the number of contests for possession, which is one of the main criticisms levelled at football. In hurling, you have a contest for the ball every ten seconds or so and you also see possession changing hands all the time.
“The public like that. Longer kickouts, less handpassing and the use of the mark close to goal would make for better entertainment in football too,” said Earley.
He is against the idea of replacing black and yellow cards with a sin bin sanction.
Under the proposal, a 10-minute spell in the sin bin would replace one black or two yellow cards.
“I can’t work out what that’s about. If the reason for getting rid of the black card is because of perceived issues over the consistency of application, I can’t see how scrapping it in favour of the sin bin is going to make any difference.
“Won’t the same arguments over inconsistency still apply?
As well as that, I’m not in favour of having too many situations where one team has more players than the other, which applies with the sin bin. The black card doesn’t allow that,” said Earley.
He believes that the proposal to allow attacking players to make a mark after making a catch close to the opposition goal is a plus but Kearns is not as convinced. “Is there any need for it? I’m not so sure that there is. It would make out game look a lot more like Australian Rules. I’d prefer to see some of the other changes tried out. Bringing in to many together is asking for trouble,” he said.
Concerns
A raft of major rule changes would increase the workload on officials but Maurice Deegan, one of the most experienced referees in the game, has no major concerns about that.
“Counting handpasses isn’t difficult. Referees would soon get used to it. I had no problem with it in the International Rules game and other referees will tell you the same.
“Deciding on a mark in an attacking situation would be a bit harder. The referee would have to decide whether the catch from a kick outside the ‘45’ was on or inside the 20-metre line.
“It’s okay if it’s clearly inside but it would be hard enough to judge what was on the line when you’re coming from behind the play. I presume linesmen would play a part in that.
“Once rules are set out clearly, referees will apply them as best they can. But, as with any changes, it’s only when you see them in operation that you can judge who they are working,” he said.