GAA’s Hurling Development Committee to recommend sterner dissent rule

The GAA’s Hurling Development Committee (HDC) are to recommend the game adopts a sterner dissent rule, similar to the one that has been introduced to Gaelic football. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile.

The GAA’s Hurling Development Committee (HDC) are to recommend the game adopts a sterner dissent rule, similar to the one that has been introduced to Gaelic football.

As well as the removal of the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals from next year, the HDC will propose to Central Council next month that a player who displays dissent to the awarding of a free against his team is punished more severely.

Currently in hurling, a referee can bring the ball forward 13 metres if he believes a player or players have taken undue exception to his decision. In football, dissent is penalised with a 50m advancement of the free up to the 13m line, which the opposing team can elect to kick from outside the 40m arc in an attempt to score two points.

The HDC have yet to determine exactly how many more metres the free will be advanced but they have agreed in principle to propose to Central Council that it be on the agenda of Congress in Februrary.

Speaking on Saturday, GAA director general Tom Ryan supported the idea of adding a heavier punishment for dissent in hurling.

“If it's okay to just express a personal view, I think that would be a real addition.

“Now, hurling, it's probably fair to say, doesn't need as much remedial attention as football might have had but that's not to say for a second that it can't be improved upon. There's nothing that we do that can't be improved upon. We have a very eminently qualified HDC looking at matters like that and others. So, I expect that will be part of the dialogue going forward.”

It is not expected the advantage rule, which is applied at the referee’s discretion in football as opposed to being limited to five seconds, will transfer to hurling. There doesn’t appear to be much appetite for the clock-hooter in hurling circles either.

However, after a considerable improvement in discipline at inter-county Gaelic football this past year, there is agreement that some of the FRC’s measures are worthy adapting.

In the 2025 All-Ireland SFC, just four players were sent off over 99 games – two straight dismissals and two for second yellow card offences. That was a decline of eight red cards from the previous season.

In contrast, there were 13 players dismissed in the hurling championship, 10 of them straight sendings off. That was an increase of six from 2024.