Ladies football voice merits of clock/hooter system

As the GAA consider amendments to their rulebook to cater for the clock/hooter in next year’s Championships, they would be well served making the short walk down the corridors of Level Six in Croke Park and seeking the counsel of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA).

The same system has been in operation in their game for several years without much fuss although there is a countdown clock (the GAA one currently counts up from zero). It is started and stopped by a match official on the signal of the referee and substitutions are defined as stoppages.

“I know the worry is there would be tactical substitutions used late in the game to run down the clock, but we simply stop the clock for substitutions,” states a LGFA spokesperson. “It’s a very simple process where you have an official who is in charge of the clock, the referee puts one hand in the air and that signals to the official to stop the clock. The referee signals again for the clock to start and the game is back on. It’s a simple system but it works well for ladies football. Ladies football, in general, is quite clear of cynical play so it probably isn’t in the make-up of our managers and players to use tactics like that. But we have the rules there to deal with those situations should they happen.”