Brennan in dark on card rule

NICKY BRENNAN, the chairman of the Hurling Rules Task Force, last night admitted that he had not been consulted on the experimental yellow card system.

Brennan's admission followed those of Tipperary Allstar Eoin Kelly and Wexford George O'Connor, who had agreed to embrace the sin bin system, but had given no such support to the new structure whereby a player is sent off after receiving a yellow card.

"We met twice and we felt the sin bin would be good," Kelly said.

"But the Football Committee decided to scrap it and this new system is not something we wanted."

O'Connor added: "I feel a bit annoyed. There was no consultation on this issue."

The hurling committee met twice and, according to Mr Brennan, the general consensus was there was "very little" wrong with the rules of the game.

However, Mr Brennan said "events took on a life of their own" after the initial (football) experimentations were introduced.

The Football Task Force met on a Monday night, but their deliberations were sub judice, until President Sean Kelly announced them to the media in Hong Kong a week later.

"We were not aware of what was coming out until it was revealed at the press conference. We were not consulted. I accept what players said about not being consulted. I was not consulted either.''

The one issue, highlighted by the players Kelly, O'Connor and Henry Shefflin was that some action needed to be taken with regards to the "unnecessary attentions" of defenders on attackers.

This led to their initial proposal that referees should pay closer attention to dangerous play where a player engages in foul play 'with intent, or with reckless disregard' for the safety of other players.

As well as recommending two points would be awarded for scoring directly from a line-ball, the committee was in general agreement with the sin bin experiment.

The only other proposal made in the revised document was that 'digging' an opponent in the ribs with the hurley or fist or 'tapping' an opponent's elbow with the hurley as he solo runs should be treated as a yellow card offence.

"We had a very open debate and I would have to say the contribution from the players was excellent," Mr Brennan added.

"Obviously the proposal on the sin bin was coming from the football people and we were happy enough to go along with that, although there was a feeling a player should receive a second yellow before being sent off."

Officially, this and the other experiments will remain in force until the end of the League campaigns, but, in the face of almost overwhelming opposition, the yellow-card regulation could be rescinded at the next meeting of the Central Council on March 12.

What could influence a decision in this regard is the popular view that it has no chance of being adopted at Congress a month later.

Antrim hurling boss Dinny Cahill became the latest manager to hit out at the new yellow card rule which he believes will have an adverse effect on the game.

"It's a stupid, stupid rule," said Cahill, following six players having to be replaced in the NHL game in Wexford last Sunday.

"There wasn't a dirty stroke in that game. A serious look will have to be taken at the new rules. These rules to me are ridiculous because hurling is a man's sport.

"There was no one ever killed on a hurling field yet," Cahill said.

"Players pick up skinned knuckles and bruises but those will be healed up in a day or two and they'll be back playing again."