INTER-COUNTY MANAGERS will have to name their panel by no later than 9am on the Thursday before a senior championship game under new changes arising from a weekend meeting of the GAA’s Central Council.
The changes, which will be enforced for the 2015 season if a motion is passed at Congress, will require a panel of 26 players be registered. With the exception of a replacement for a goalkeeper or sub-goalkeeper, no changes can be made to the registered list.
The penalty for including a player not included on the registered list will be forfeiture of game.
Teams will now also be required to submit their starting XV to the referee at least 20 minutes before throw-in on the day of the game with the penalty for starting a player not on that list also the loss of the game.
Also emerging from the meeting is the news that the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) now has the authority to withdraw sideline privileges from team officials who make derogatory comments in relation to a match official before a game or in interviews subsequent to a game.
Previously, suspensions were the only penalty that could be proposed in these instances.
There’s a myriad of factors which they need to think about here, and knowing the GAA’s ad hoc and reactive manner of changing rules, none of them will be considered. Examples would include:
(1) How does this work for under-21 championship games which are played on a Wednesday, for example? Do you have to name your full panel a week beforehand?
(2) I’m not entirely sure why goalkeepers are considered exceptional, but presuming they are, how can that be enforced? For example if Kerry wanted to parachute Colm Cooper in as a late starter for the All Ireland under these rules, surely he could be listed as a goalkeeper, with Brian Kelly listed to start in the forwards. They swap positions and there you go, job done.
(3) It’s a very early deadline, particularly for Sunday games. The problem is not counties that name their teams on a Thursday night or Friday morning, it’s the ones that name teams that are completely pointless. This was compounded by the GAA’s daft rule that they could only wear numbers 1-26, so if there were changes to the panel, lads had to go on the field wearing the wrong numbers. Most fans don’t care what number the guy wears, as long as it corresponds to his/her programme.
(4) What exactly is the procedure for injuries in the warm up now? These are very common and it’s not clear what a team is supposed to do then – make an official substitution before the throw in?
Spot on Kevin. The modern reaction to this modern issue would have been to dispense with the charade of naming teams and just have a panel listed on a programme. Forfeiture of a game is ridiculous. And will never be enforced in championship judging by precedent
I like the idea of a team being named in the sense that it can add to the build up to a game and give some sense of how a team is going to play, but a big part of that is how will the Kerry 12 do against the Cork 5 and the like and in the modern game that’s largely moot.
I do think 26 is a big enough panel to give scope for injuries so you could name a player who is touch and go and still not be too badly hit if they’re not fit to take part on the day, but it’s one of those situations where the full consequences aren’t being thought through.
It’s the same as when the black card was brought in, ostensibly to reduce cynical fouling. Nobody took the time to put themselves in the shoes of a manager and think about what he would do in response, which in many cases was to ensure that none of his full back line players were ever left in a one on one situation. I get the feeling here that nobody is thinking this through and asking themselves what’s going to happen if we actually bring this in. Nobody wants the farcical scenes of watching a guy in a goalkeeper’s jersey lining out at corner forward, but it’s going to happen somewhere if this is done.
See I wouldn’t consider that farcical at all. What’s the difference him wearing 1 or 23 or 15? Anyway, there’s going to be strong commentary on this and will be interesting if it will exist in this format next July. But as you say, most panels are 30, so naming 26 probably won’t be an issue, even if you’re carrying an injury doubt Thursday morning. Still, of all the issues in the game, I don’t think this is in the top 10.
And if they’re going to ban guys for talking about referees’ dreadful decisions, maybe they will address the dreadful referees and the inconsistency. Or how about letting the referees come out and explain their decisions?
I disagree about the panel of 26 being big enough. Most county teams play in house games (15 v 15). Some teams even play against more to give the effect of playing a defensively minded team. I wouldn’t like to be in the position of telling a few lads thanks for your effort in training but you’ll have to sit in the stand.
Take your point Brendan but the bigger counties have more than 30 training as you say yourself, and so they have the situation of guys training midweek not togging at the weekend – so it wouldn’t be something new in that sense. Just four less.
I just think the Thursday morning, forfeiture thing is a bit juvenile and heavy-handed given the other important issues.
Darragh:
It would be farcical in the sense that it would be making a mockery of a rule that was brought in, leaving out the fact that the player might end up wearing a different colour jersey out the field.
Brendan:
It’s not that the county would only have a panel of 26 for training, but that they could only name 26 who are eligible to be used on the day of the game. That’s the very same as it is now, the only difference would be the timing of when the 26 would be named.
Read the article it clearly states senior inter county, since when did u21 become senior. I would also presume an injury in the warm up is the same as an injury in the game and you would sub him as per normal, which reduces your subs from 5 to 4. I cannot see any problem with this if it cuts out the bullshit that Clare and other introduced a few years back. Thanks Loughnane for this one.
But whee do you few the line, Bigger Counties have 35/40 on their training panels. 26 is plenty, you have 11 subs for 15 positions. Christ you have only 22 players for an entire World Cup. Players know they are playing for panel positions as well as team places. It ha not been a problem thus far.
You’re bang on there big guy!
Reducing a team’s allocation of sub’s because a player goes over on his ankle 15 minutes before a game is crazy stuff.
Does the player physically have to start on the field of play? does the game start 14 v 15 until the first break in play?
Joe:
By GAA rule, U21 are full adult games and unless this new rule specifically includes them, then they must be bound by it. However even if this has been done in the wording, my point was that specifically naming Thursday, rather than three days previous or whenever, makes no sense. Offaly played Limerick in a SHC qualifier on a Thursday in 2003, when would they have had to name their team by this rule? Laois played Carlow in a SFC qualifier on a Friday night, Offaly played Laois in a Leinster SFC replay on a Monday as well round about 2003 also, it’s not set in stone that all matches will be played on Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon.
This happens far too often in the GAA – rules are brought in or removed without anyone actually thinking through all the “what if” scenarios.
Good points well made Kevin, I agree with the spirit of the proposal, and maybe a little more though needs to go into the wording. It might help if they said 48 hours etc before the throw in time.
stupid rule,if player breaks his leg 5 minutes before throw in is he supposed to lie there till the game starts so he can be taken off.
Mindless bureaucracy at it’s finest. Overreacting to a minor annoyance and passing a rule which is almost guaranteed to result in controversy down the line.
The taking of privileges from a manager for talking about a ref is ridiculous – they bottled punishing Cody for his “criminal” comments and now have concocted these new rules. Cop out.