GAA president admits football rules will diverge further from hurling
Election: Pic: Congress Jarlath Gael Park Chumann Piaras Uachtarán During The Lúthchleas At Dublin Mídheach/sportsfile ó 2024 Croke Change In Burns Special Gaa
GAA president Jarlath Burns is not concerned about the widening difference in the administration of Gaelic football and hurling games.
After the new rules for the former were given the green light in Special Congress on Saturday, football and hurling matches will be timed differently from next year’s Allianz Leagues.
Football games will counted down with the clock halted for stoppages such as injuries and substitutes, while hurling will be counted up with referees allowing for additional time at the end.
The advantage rule will also be contrasting. The five-second window for aggressive fouls will continue in hurling but the length of advantage will be at the referee’s discretion in football and apply to technical as well as aggressive infringements.
Burns said: “If you're watching a football match and a hurling match, you're watching two different games, There is genuine divergence now. But that's okay, there's nothing wrong with that. Maybe that's what was required for Gaelic football to make it better and to make it more interesting and more enjoyable.
“That's just one of the rules – along with there will only be two in for the throw-up and there will be the arc, there will be other things as well. I don't think that's a major issue.”
As for dual club referees who will have to juggle both sets of rules, Burns said: “The job now for us is – and we did say that the job of the FRC is only beginning – along with the referees development committee and the standing committee on Playing Rule; all of those people's jobs are now beginning to ensure that there is a proper training and educative process in place for referees at all levels.
“Let's say if the Comhairle Árd Oideachais (Higher Education Committee) decide not to go with the rules straight away for Sigerson ( which they have since done), that you will have referees refereeing the old rules on Saturday and the new rules on Sunday, we are confident in our referees. That's a small tie-in period, we know that. It's a trial year this year, and we are very confident in our referees' ability to be able to handle that.” FRC chairman Jim Gavin took exception to the suggestion the football changes will have an impact on hurling.
“Just having that negativity, I have to say it surprises me. What we want to see is people embracing them and getting that balance, to say this is a great opportunity for our games, not to be continuously searching out the dark matter in life.
“We want to say this is a great opportunity for us to move forward in our games. I’m sure whatever learnings we pick up, there is a hurling rules committee and I’m sure if there are any benefits they see for that particular game – because I agree they are two separate games – that they will be moved across.” Gavin was delighted Special Congress chose to vote in the new rules for the club scene as well as county.
“I’ve been very, very impressed with the counties, with the clubs. And for us, it was important that the clubs got to see it.
“If nothing else, if a rule change arrived on January 1 next year, a permanent change and club players hadn't had the chance to play, that would cause a bit of chaos.
“And secondly, a scenario where you have club players viewing or watching games, inter-county games, seeing this type of football, even at the inter-provincials games, talking to club players, they want to play it.”
Although they won’t apply in January and February’s Sigerson Cup, Gavin would like to see pre-league challenge games in January open to the public. “I think that would be fantastic, wouldn't it? We'd all love to see it. As a former inter-county manager, I'm not sure if I'd be well into that, but I think that would be great.
“That would give us all a flavour of… I mean there's going to be great excitement. I can only imagine the atmosphere in Salthill on January 25 when Galway take on Armagh. That's going to be a cracking game, that'll be a full house. Two All-Ireland finalists, it's the top two teams in the country going head-to-head, only a couple of months after the All-Ireland final.”
The six-time All-Ireland SFC winning manager confirmed the FRC will now need to be reconstituted with the possible replacement of new Tyrone manager Malachy O’Rourke and Michael Murphy after returning to the Donegal set-up.
“I've just been very impressed with Malachy and Michael and I know their integrity was outstanding and they're doing what's best for the Association. That wasn't ever in question.
“I think they both have made the right decision. We have to look at now, not that the committee is disbanding, it's what we bring into it, other things on the athletic development, on statistics issues, on referees.”
Gavin added that the FRC didn’t vote on any proposals. It had been claimed a vote was taken to jettison the four-point goal after last month’s interprovincial tournament. “We didn't have any votes on an issue. They were all discussed out on ‘what's the best thing?’ We're here to serve the association, that really is our objective.”