John Bannon: There’s a rule for sledging — use it!

Rule 5.14 of the playing rules of Gaelic football states that to use threatening or provocative language against an opponent is an immediate black card offence.

It is fundamentally important that this is implemented both at inter-county and club level to uphold the sportsmanship of the game.

But can we say that is happening? Hardly. Identifying it is difficult for referees and watching on tv, it’s even harder. Then again, it’s quite obvious going by the body language of players that there are harsh words being exchanged.