Former Tipperary dual star Babs Keating admitted that he doesn't like watching modern hurling and that the distance the sliotar travels must be addressed.
Speaking on Off The Ball on Thursday, Keating explained that the Dublin-Wexford game in Croke Park last Saturday was the worst game of hurling he is ever seen.
“I don’t enjoy watching hurling [now]. The end of the road came for me last Saturday. What I saw in Croke Park last Saturday was the worst of all-time,” Keating said.
“13 yellow cards, three reds and a penalty that shouldn’t have even been a free.
“Goals decide games and now in the modern game, with the present hurling ball we’re playing with, a penalty is a goal nine times out of 10.
“To see a Wexford official running in with a new ball every time there was a free, for a GAA that professes to be so professional, what I saw was beyond belief,” he said.
He added that the GAA must address the distance that the sliotar travels because the speed at which it travels now makes it difficult for referees and fans alike to actually see the sliotar.
“The distance the hurling ball travels is ridiculous in my opinion.
“A puck out is delivered 120 yards down the field and the cornerback can put it back up to the other end of the field.
“From a spectators point-of-view, there’s a generation like myself who can’t even see the ball it’s travelling so fast.
“From the players and supporters point-of-view, it makes sense if the ball travelled 80 yards rather than 120 because you want to have more play and more enjoyable play and better games as a result,” Keating explained.
He went on to say that the sliotar that was used in “in his generation” travelled significantly less distance and players used larger hurls back then too as a result.
“I’m advocating that a hurling ball should be tested and shouldn’t travel more than 90 yards in normal conditions.
“If Christy Ring and Eddie Keher were playing with the hurling ball that’s being used today the opposition would have to bring a carpenter with them and barricade the goal,” Babs Keating said pointedly.
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