'They've been great': Referee David Gough's U-turn on new Gaelic football rules

Referee David Gough during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final match between Armagh and Kerry. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Having previously been extremely vocal in his criticism of the scale of new rules being introduced and how they were communicated to referees, David Gough has performed something of a U-turn by declaring that football’s new rules “have been great for us”.

Gough was speaking during a panel discussion at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, where it was announced that SuperValu had extended by five years its sponsorship of the All-Ireland SFC.

Gough, who previously described as “astonishing” the sheer volume of change being implemented all at once and lambasted how referees had to officiate the opening round of the National League without a rulebook, said the new rules have delivered a level of respect that has increased the enjoyment of the men wearing black.

“They've been great for us, once they bed in,” Gough remarked.

“And I think the greatest one for us is one of the values that is based in the GAA - respect. And respect that is afforded to referees now on the pitch and from the sideline has increased greatly.

“I notice it not so much at inter-county level, in that we have a great relationship [with players] on the pitch and I've a good relationship with the management teams, but certainly for club referees around the country, they are telling us anecdotally that the enjoyment for them in refereeing and the respect that they are getting on the pitch has increased significantly, that there is greater silence on the pitch and they are allowed to make their decisions, go through their thought processes, and there just seems to be a happy atmosphere among the referee cohort in relation to the respect on the field.” 

Armagh footballer Jemar Hall, who came off the bench in their come-from-behind Ulster semi-final victory over Tyrone, believes the new rules have encouraged lesser counties to be braver in how they approach games.

“It is a better spectacle. There are a lot more shorts getting off. If you win your own kickout, you've maybe an 80% chance of getting a shot off. It is more entertaining, especially with the two-points. A 10-point lead isn't like a 10-point lead anymore, it is like a four or five-point lead. The games are always in the balance.

“And for so-called weaker teams, they've came back into games or just went for the game, whereas in previous years they might have sat back and parked the bus, but now they're really going for it and getting the benefits of it.” 

Dublin’s Niall Scully, meanwhile, said the FRC changes have “brought new life” to a game that had gone “stale and very defensive”.

“Again, maybe a tweak or two somewhere, but overall, they've been hugely beneficial. The games are a lot more exciting. A 10-point lead; you could end up losing a game by 10 points when you've been up by 10 points at half-time.”