Dubs vent handpass rule fury

THE backlash against the controversial handpass rule continued yesterday with both the Dublin football and hurling camps united in their condemnation of the regulation which has dominated reviews of last weekend’s championship action.

Football attacker Paul Flynn labelled the new rule as “a disgrace” and reckons the six counties who played last Sunday were “the guinea pigs” who suffered most from its implementation.

He said: “I think it’s a disgrace, but what are you going to do? You saw Kieran Donaghy at the weekend give a clear handpass and it was overturned. In Derry and Armagh, Eoin Bradley gave a hand pass and the referee was behind him. He decided it was a foul, but there was no way that he could have decided it was a throw. That’s impossible. Those teams were the guinea pigs, they got the harsh end of it and it might be a bit better next weekend. It’s the first round of Championship, but if that happens in an All-Ireland quarter-final, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on the referee.”