It was probably a bit of a surprise that the GAA Central Council opted for immediate introduction of the amended rules but I can understand you’re probably as well to implement straight away so that teams can get used to them, especially with such a small window before the championship.
The Football Review Committee (FRC) left that up to central council, though and they’re happy that any potential difficulties will be minimal. Our task on the committee was straightforward enough because the consensus is that the league has gone well and any holes being picked in the core proposals aren’t big.
These finalised rules are probably easier to follow. We met the intercounty referees on Wednesday and went through the changes but they’re fairly minimal.
The 4v3 is the big one. I think that makes it easier for the referee, especially at club level now that the unintentional breach is no longer penalised – as long as it goes no farther than 4m. A referee no longer needs to be turning around all the time to check nobody’s inadvertently stepped over the halfway line.
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If he breaks the four metres, that’s intentional but if he suddenly realises that he’s overstepped the mark and runs back, he gets the benefit of the doubt.
We’ve been talking to referees all the way along and I’d say generally, they are happy with the rules and that their views have been taken into account.
Work goes on for the FRC and for the moment my focus is on club referees. Although the deadline for local implementation is May 1st, from what I’m hearing, I think nearly all the counties are changing straight away or maybe in the next week or so.
I went to see my own club the other morning and check on how it was all going. It was fine, no real problems even though there wasn’t a full crew of officials. The ref had two umpires and he just put one either side of the field at the goals.
I thought he was going to put one in the halfway line but the new rule probably relaxes it a little bit, making it, as I mentioned, easier for the club referee.
I’ll talk to the Laois referees maybe next week or the week after, just to see how they’re getting on and to go through any of the new changes.
Then you’ll have other lads ringing you to check various things. The phone is non-stop at the minute from people involved in refereeing at all levels. These aren’t big interventions but even small bits of advice are helpful.
The best advice I have for club referees is to ref what’s in front of you. In other words, you can’t be beating yourself up over stuff that’s going on behind you. It’s not even new. Even before the changes, you weren’t turning and looking around to see if someone was misbehaving off the ball. All you can do as a referee is manage what’s in front of you. All the evidence now is that clubs are happy to play the new rules and do their best to observe the 4v3.
We shouldn’t forget that a lot of the teams have been playing a 4v3 anyway because it was 3v3 with the goalkeeper staying in his own half of the field. This only changes the dynamic when he decides to go up the field.
Not all goalkeepers are Niall Morgan and Ethan Rafferty; they’re content, particularly at club level, to stay where they are so there won’t be huge pressure to swap in and out of your own half.
There had been a little disquiet over the 12v11 overload but probably more concern about the effect of black and red cards, helped along by the Tyrone-Kerry and Galway-Tyrone matches. The change kills two birds with one stone. Having to have 4v3 at both ends at all times means teams can’t move lads around to soften the impact of losing a player. Plus, the overload is gone.
Another controversial area was the kick-out and the 20-second limit to stop time wasting. That’s gone now. There’s no actual limit any more. Although there is a guide for referees of 30 seconds, its enforcement is entirely at their discretion.
We all know what “delaying the play” looks like and now instead of a hop ball, the penalty is a 20m free so I’d be surprised if many decide to push their luck.
The other big change is the hooter and when to blow the full-time whistle. There were views on both sides of this argument among referees. Some were happy with the hooter sounding the end of the match even with controversies like what happened in Meath-Westmeath when there was a row over a goal scored at the very end.
More though are happy with the tweak. It is easy for a team leading and in possession to put the ball dead. If a team needs a score, it’s exciting that they have to attack and make the possession count with a score. Both scenarios give certainty.
This weekend will be very interesting. We’ll get an idea of how the changes are going to work in what will be very tense fixtures, particularly in Division Two, which will be the definition of a stress test.
♦ Maurice Deegan was an intercounty referee for over 20 seasons and is a member of the Football Review Committee
