Yellow peril on rise in league

AS the Allianz Football League finishes up this weekend, it has been confirmed referees are brandishing more cards in this year’s competition than in 2010.

A comparison of the GAA’s Fair Play Indexes between this year’s league and last year after the completion of the league rounds shows the change.

All in all, referees have shown 919 yellow cards in contrast to 840 last year, the 2011 figure not taking into account the London v Leitrim game which was conceded by Leitrim. Consequently, 131 games have been played this year with an average of seven yellow cards brandished per game, compared to an average of 6.36 in 2010.

But, based over the two years, Kilkenny’s footballers have proven to be the cleanest side in the leagues, finishing second in 2010 and joint fourth this year. Meath’s position at the bottom of the index this year could be construed as having something to do with Seamus McEnaney’s arrival, especially as his former team Monaghan went from having one of the worst disciplinary records under him last year to the joint best under his successor Eamonn McEneaney this year. However, that theory falls down slightly when the fact that the Royals still finished 27th of the 33 counties in 2010 is taken into account.