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"It'll be a shitshow in the summer" | Kieran Donaghy dismisses new black card rule

On a weekend where the GAA's new rules were given the wider platform of the National Football Lea...



Football

"It'll be a shitshow in the summer" | Kieran Donaghy dismisses new black card rule

On a weekend where the GAA's new rules were given the wider platform of the National Football League, Kieran Donaghy remains adamant that the alteration to the black card has been a disaster. 

To the degree that Kieran Donaghy is in support of the advanced mark rule, his opinion on the altered black card pulls very much in the opposite direction.

In accordance with the new rule, a player who gets a black card now spends 10-minutes off the field in a sin bin, reducing his side's numbers for that period.

From Donaghy's perspective, it is a completely unworkable situation.

"It is rubbish and not going to be able to be officiated at lower levels all across the country," he remarked on Thursday's OTB AM. "It is going to cause absolute chaos.

"It is going to be an absolute shitshow when it comes to the summer with this black card. We've enough cards already with red and yellow."

GAA Referee Seán Hurson shows a black card to Graham O'Sullivan of Kerry. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Doubtful of a referee's ability to accurately measure the time requirements of the rule the lower down one goes in the Gaelic football pyramid, a far more effective way to manage cynical play within the GAA would come via the introduction of a ruling that mimicked the AFL's 50-metre rule.

"It is a fast, easy, effective rule that would make the game so much better and get rid of the cynicism within the game," noted Donaghy.

Within the AFL, the 50-metre rule occurs after a mark or free-kick has already been called. It allows the attacking team to move down the field unencumbered by the offending team and is generally awarded in light of a cynical or disrespectful action.

A sport that does not use yellow, red or black cards, Kieran Donaghy would like to see the GAA adopt a similarly streamlined disciplinary procedure.

"We're already taking rules from the AFL and they have no cards," he stated. "It is the most hard-hitting game that you've ever played in your life and the referee has no cards.

"They deal with all the bullshit during a review on a Monday morning."

You can watch back the first episode of the returning Shot Clock with Kieran Donaghy on OTB AM here

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GAA Gaelic Football Kerry Kieran Donaghy