The latest update from the Football Review Committee indicates a continuing poor engagement with FRC data gathering. Committee chair Jim Gavin, as a former manager, felt obliged to make excuses for the rate of response – only four counties shared their GPS data on physical demands.
His comments came after a brief presentation from Professor Mark Roantree, from DCU’s Centre of Data Analytics, who explained his brief as “just monitoring the demands of players, pre- and post-rules . . . to make sure that (a lot of the positives) wasn’t coming at a price”.
From the limited responses available, the study didn’t find evidence of intensified demands.
“We didn’t have a huge sample, so that has to be said up front. We didn’t get a great engagement with the teams, so we had to do our data with clubs across three divisions, Divisions 2, 3, and 4, which is what we got.
“We only had a total of 40 games altogether, but at least we were able to put something together to begin with. So, the headline, I guess, is nothing much has changed in terms of physical demands on players.”
Comparing the limited data with 2024, he also drew attention to the impact on goalkeepers of the rules’ modifications, introduced for the last two series of league matches.
Findings were based on GPS data looking at “six of the different zones of walking, standing, jogging, running, high intensity running, and then sprinting,” he said.
“The demand or the intensity, the number of sprints, if you like, for goalkeepers, increased dramatically. We saw that picture through rounds one to five and then it dropped off again for rounds six and seven after the modification.”
Responding, Gavin was sympathetic to the lack of co-operation.
“On the point that was made there in terms of the four teams involved. It is the start of the journey and I do have some sympathy from being a former bainisteoir in terms of everybody getting comfortable with the integrity of the process.
“I don’t know who those four teams are nor does Professor Roantree for that matter. We just know what divisions they come from.”
He expressed the hope “the managers will, and the sports scientists will get comfortable with sharing data that’s anonymised. I come from a profession in aviation where we’re looking at anonymised data the whole time but we need to build that trust.
“It will be our aspiration that, as people get familiar with this, that county teams will begin to share the data or provide the data to the Games Intelligence Unit so they can provide reports for the benefit of the games.”
During an online briefing on Wednesday evening, Gavin explained how his committee’s core ‘enhancements’ had been assessed during the now concluded league campaign.
All were green-lighted: the one-on-one throw-in, the kick-out having to travel beyond the 40-metre arc, the 4v3 structure, the ‘solo-and-go, revised scoring system, advanced mark, provisions for black and red cards, delay fouls, stricter rules on dissent, restriction to the captain of communication with referees and clock and hooter system.
Gavin noted that there had been slippage in the enforcement of the rule governing communication with referees, saying that “reinforcement” was needed.
He was also anxious to distinguish between the existing rule on using ‘abusive language’ to challenge the authority of the referee, which warrants yellow or red cards, and the FRC rule that punishes “dissent with referees’ decision toward a free to the opposing team” by moving the free forward.
That rule and the ‘solo and go,’ which allows players to take frees immediately and not be challenged within four metres have greatly reduced deliberate delay around frees.
“What we’re seeing is six dissents per round across the four divisions,” said Gavin, “so that’s less than one per game which indicates to us that players have been discouraged about showing dissent with referees’ decisions on a free to the opposing team.”
He acknowledged that not all venues would have a clock/hooter for upcoming championship fixtures but that all matches broadcast or streamed live would have to be from fully equipped grounds.
“Similarly for those teams who are involved in the Tailteann, who might get a home draw in the championship, or the ground might be used for any of the games, if that game is being covered by GAA+, that ground would have to have a clock and hooter ready. That’s what Central Council voted on, on Monday.”
