McDonnell: Advantage rule is crucifying us

Offaly football manager Emmet McDonnell believes his "naive" players are being crucified by the new advantage rule.

Offaly suffered relegation from Division 3 this spring and McDonnell says his side’s honesty in adhering to the advantage rule was central in their drop to the fourth tier. The manager now fears the regulation will derailOffaly’s championship campaign which beings against Longford this weekend.

If a player is fouled under the new system, a referee, by raising their arm upright, may award the offended team a five second advantage as opposed to a free. The advantage rule has been far worse than the black card to Offaly. The Offaly players seem to be more naive than other counties, they seem to be more honest,” he said.