Earley fears black day for GAA
With Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and several Ulster counties against the recommendation, two of the FRC’s members, Tony Scullion and Paul Earley, are concerned it won’t receive the required two-thirds majority.
Derry’s 1993 All-Ireland-winning defender Scullion and former Roscommon player Earley claim some county boards are not in touch with the grassroots who are adamantly against cynical play.
Earley believes the GAA would be sending out all the wrong signals were delegates not to back the black card this weekend.
“Well, the message it sends out is that cynical fouling is okay in our game. It’s accepted. It’s tolerated.
“The reality is, in our game at the moment, you can have 40 yellow cards if 10 subs come on so you can have 40 different people in the game deliberately pull down a player and stay on the field of play.
“There is no deterrent. The sanction at the moment is no deterrent. If we’re genuine and we want to get rid of cynical fouling, which the vast majority of people who contributed to the survey and spoke to us, it was at the top of their list: do something about cynical fouling and cynical play once and for all.
“That was their appeal and that came through loud and clear and a lot of those people are strong committed, GAA people, football people in every county in the country, so the message is, if you don’t do it, people are not listening to those people on the ground.”
With the FRC having received almost 4,000 submissions on the state of Gaelic football over eight months, Scullion fears there are a number of counties that aren’t reflecting what the ordinary GAA member is saying and are voting against the black card.
“I would be slightly worried that the common man on the ground is not getting a say. Every county and every board and every person is entitled to their opinion.
“It will be all the worse for Gaelic football if this motion — the black card — is not passed. We have a great game but we have had a great game for a long number of years and the rules and the skills have changed from years gone by. From the sideline being kicked off the ground or the penalty moved in... there are so many changes. Most of them have improved or helped our game.”
Ireland International Rules manager Earley, who will be assisted by Scullion in October’s series, has delivered presentations to county boards such as Kildare on Tuesday night and his native Roscommon and will be in Derry on Saturday to introduce the proposals to delegates.
He claims some of the FRC’s proposals, including the black card, are not receiving a fair hearing.
“My concern is that anywhere where we’ve been able to present, the proposals have been judged on their merits and have been well received.
“I think in some cases they’re not being judged on their merits and that’s what concerns me a bit.
“The reality is, and I’m absolutely convinced about this, the black card will help to eliminate cynical fouling from the game.
“I’m absolutely convinced about that and I think that anybody who has a genuine interest in the game and wants to get rid of the cynicism that’s in the game should look at that very closely before they make a final decision.
“Two-thirds majority is a big number to get and some counties have gone against it. That’s disappointing, I have to say.”
Scullion pointed to recent examples of cynical play as evidence that cynicism is alive and well in inter-county Gaelic football.
“I have heard ones talk about the Tyrone-Dublin game [last Saturday] and the last 10 minutes. But broadly speaking it’s happening right through the game.
“We have sat down and analysed 60 games on DVD over the last 10 years and it was the stand-out fact that cynical play is taking place.”
Counties like Tipperary feel referees will be burdened by the addition of the black card but Scullion doesn’t agree with that thinking.
“This is three simple fouls that are easily seen out there and easy for the referee to make the choice,” he said.
Scullion, a former dual inter-county player, also allayed concerns among predominantly hurling counties that the black card will be introduced to their game.
“Some of the hurling counties, I think they fear that if football rules change that the next thing there will be a black card introduced in hurling. There’s no call for a black card in hurling, cynical play doesn’t happen in hurling. They have nothing to fear there.”
Meanwhile, although Tipperary have said no to the black card and the clean pick-up, they have backed several other FRC proposals.
Tipperary are in favour of bringing the ball forward from 13 to 30 metres in an attempt to stop the offending player and his team slowing down play as well as the public clock and the mark.
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