GAA close loopholes on suspensions
It's one of a series of recommendations made by a committee which reviewed disciplinary rules and procedures and specifically examined the implications of decisions made in the past year by units of the Association and the courts.
A significant change in relation to the operation of the blood rule is proposed, to avoid the anomaly highlighted by Cork last year in the Munster final replay.
They recommend that in future, 'blood' substitutions approved by the referee can be made from any member of the panel of players officially notified to him.
Additionally, new guidelines on the use of video evidence are being proposed, as well as the establishment of an independent arbitration tribunal to adjudicate on matters of dispute.
The suggested separation of club and inter-county suspensions relates only to category C and D offences of two weeks and one month durations. Suspensions would only apply at the level at which the offence is committed, i.e., club, inter-county, inter-provincial, colleges, schools.
The committee shares the view that a player sent off in an inter-county game is doubly penalised, in that he cannot play with club or county. "One of the big complaints that clubs have is that a player sent off in a county match is lost to them," commented chairman Padraic Duffy.
"And, one of the reasons why county boards are reluctant to play club games before major inter-county games is because of the risk of players being sent off. We feel more (club) games will now be played. That was a very important consideration."
Mr Duffy stressed that suspensions arising out of category A (interference with match officials) and B offences (striking with the hurley or head, kicking, stamping) will apply 'right across the board,' as heretofore.
Interestingly, he pointed out the incidence of offences in these categories was 'very few and relatively few,' respectively.
"We want to make it very clear. This is not an attempt to diminish our standard of discipline. It's an attempt to be fair and equitable towards our players," he added.
Significantly, in the case of four-week suspensions, the penalty will include the 'next' game in the competition even if that game falls outside the suspension period. This would ensure that every sending-off for a red card offence would carry 'a meaningful' penalty.
"The idea would be that if a player is sent off, for example, in an inter-county match during the championship season and there is no game for four weeks, he does incur a penalty. There are times when there could be a five-week gap," Mr Duffy explained.
This would apply in the case of a player sent off in an All-Ireland final, where the suspension would carry over to the first game the following year. More importantly, perhaps, it would cover a situation where a player sent off in the first All-Ireland semi-final could be back for the final, whereas a player dismissed in the second semi-final for the same reason a week later would miss the game.
Last season, two Kerry players who were sent off in the first semi-final were eligible under the four-week rule to play in the final. However, any player sent off for the same offence in the Dublin/Armagh semi-final would have lost out.
A further innovation in this area, relating to the imposition of penalties on county players sent off in club games would mean that only the provincial council could provide 'clearance' before they can resume playing with the county.
The particular recommendation states: 'the committee in charge shall not have the authority to exonerate the player or to mitigate the stipulated penalties, even where there is video or other substantial evidence that the reported offence was not committed by the player.........'
"It's to stop counties clearing players in inter-county matches," Mr Duffy pointed out. "County Boards came under intense pressure in several cases last year, where the rules perhaps were not applied as intended. This would take the pressure off them and pass it over to the provincial council, or the GAC, as appropriate to make the decision.
"We hope that with the separation of club and inter-county suspensions, these two measures will solve the problem."
The change in the operation of the blood rule would mean any player from the panel of substitutes could be brought on and that it would not count as an official substitution. However, any infringement of the number of ordinary substitutions (five) will involve the forfeiture of the game.
In an effort to speed up substitutions generally, it's recommended that once a referee is aware that a change is being made, a player can go on to the field straight away. In an attempt to simplify the rule relating to the serving of suspensions at the end of the year, the committee proposes that the months of December and January should be 'non-suspension' months without exception.
The establishment of an arbitration tribunal is proposed because of the growing trend by aggrieved members and clubs going to the Courts to challenge the Association's rules and procedures. The idea is that it would offer individuals or units an opportunity to have a matter of dispute considered by an independent arbitration body.
"You can never stop or say to people not to go to the Courts. We are trying to reduce the number of incidents that will make people feel that issues are being addressed fully and fairly within the Association and remove the need for people to go to court."
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