Calm before storm but league will be acid test

A false dawn is how Football Review Committee (FRC) chairman Eugene McGee viewed this weekend’s debut for the black card.

The former Offaly All-Ireland winning manager, head of the group which put forward the new playing rules, attended yesterday’s O’Byrne Cup game between Westmeath and Dublin where there were no black cards but six yellows issued by referee David Coldrick.

Seventeen black cards in all were shown across the 20 provincial pre-season games, a smaller number than what might have been anticipated.