The GAA's Congress - A Review
Last weekend in Derry, the GAA held its annual congress. The big stories to emerge were; the passing of a new rule which would see so-called "cynical" fouling punishable by a special black card, and the (re-)opening up of Croke Park to rugby if a Rugby World Cup (RWC) bid is made for the 2023 or 2027 events. What is the significant of these rules, as well as other new ones, being passed? Has the GAA missed out on any truly significant changes?
First off, it seems like a positive step to attempt to cut down on the amount of cynical fouling that takes place in Gaelic Football. Cynical fouling reared its ugly head in the National League clash between Dublin and Tyrone at Croke Park. With ten minutes to go, Dublin were attempting to make a comeback against Tyrone. John Fogarty, writing in The Examier, described Tyrone's tackling as "rugby-like." The Tyrone team were booed off the pitch by the home crowd. Mickey Harte defended his players, and the status quo, claiming, with the vote on black cards then impending, that the GAA should not be changing the rules for an "exception" like that.
This type of tackling was not exceptional. The circumstances of the match, namely proximity on the scoreboard, were not exceptional. There is a history of cynical fouling in the sport, which has become more pronounced since the early part of the last decade.
Pat Spillane famously declared the Tyrone style of football against Kerry in the 2003 All-Ireland semi-final as "puke football." The football being played was a defensive style, that involved cynical "third man" foul if the team in defence didn't quite have time to get twelve men behind the ball. By the time of the 2007 All-Ireland final, it was the "purists" from The Kingdom who perpetuated the defensive style of play, coupled with the odd cynical tackle here and there.
By the time of the 2011 All-Ireland final, Dublin were making use of an "Ulster" defensive system, while Kerry were making use of cynical fouls. Brian Sheehan's ridiculous foul on Michael Darragh Mcauley in which his tackle was somewhere south of the ball is a perfect example of this.
For the week that's in it, it is perhaps telling that Kerry, the "purists" over the last decade, will be playing Tyrone, the purveyors of "puke football" in the same period, this weekend having to win to avoid relegation.
For the week that's in it, it is perhaps telling that Kerry, the "purists" over the last decade, will be playing Tyrone, the purveyors of "puke football" in the same period, this weekend having to win to avoid relegation.
As Jim Gavin said, Tyrone were playing "within the rules." As such, there was a suggestion that teams would keep getting away with such fouling if they were allowed to by officials. Pat McEnaney spoke at the Congress and requested simply for referees to be given the powers to deal with such types of fouling.
The vote passed with 71% of the delegates backing it. Now, anyone guilty of cynical fouling, on or after January 1st 2014, will be given a black card and replaced. The team will be allowed three replacements to cover three offenders, although it is not clear what will happen if a fourth player offends. Hopefully this will allow games to be more free flowing and encourage teams to play the ball rather than playing the man. As Sean Moran wrote in preview of the Congress, the new rule mightn't entirely get rid of cynical fouls but it will improve the situation.
The reopening of Croke Park to non-GAA games is a good financial move for the association. 93% of the delegates voted in favour of the use of the stadium if Ireland are to host a RWC in the next decade. This will give the association a large increase in income at a time of the year when they don't usually have money coming in. It will also show off a truly great Irish stadium to a worldwide audience, and references to the GAA by international media, in relation to the stadium, are sure to boost the profile of the association itself. It also gives the IRFU a chance to increase support for the game in Ireland in a way that Italia '90 did for soccer. The increased exposure for rugby is sure to increase the sport's popularity within the country, and this is an interesting move by the GAA.
Another really positive move from the GAA was the passing of a motion which will see the use of hawkeye in Croke Park. Although the work of umpires, volunteer work at that, is appreciated, it is so often of poor quality. A famous example recently was Kildare having a first-half score against Down marked off in the 2010 All-Ireland semi-final, while Dublin nearly avoided being awarded a clear score in 2012's Leinster Final against Meath. It was eventually awarded after a replay on the big screen clearly showed the ball going over the bar. Any move that can lessen the likelihood of human error costing a team dearly is to be admired.
Motion 16, an increase in the length of the advantage rule, failed to get the required two-thirds majority. It's disappointing that it did not pass, but it also decreases the likelihood of frees being awarded a long time after a foul was committed. This should, in turn, decrease the likelihood of ire from the stands. A failure to introduce the mark has its negatives, in that a dying skill of the GAA will not receive support from Central Council. It's failure avoids unnecessary stoppages however, and thus should compliment the hoped lessening of cynical fouls, in allowing for a faster, more free flowing game.
As such, it is fair to say that the GAA's Annual Congress for 2013 has been a successful one. We will hopefully see a more free flowing game from 2014 onwards, in which the best footballers are the most successful. Managers will have to re-think their tactics, and a more free flowing and high scoring form of football might come about as a result.
The vote passed with 71% of the delegates backing it. Now, anyone guilty of cynical fouling, on or after January 1st 2014, will be given a black card and replaced. The team will be allowed three replacements to cover three offenders, although it is not clear what will happen if a fourth player offends. Hopefully this will allow games to be more free flowing and encourage teams to play the ball rather than playing the man. As Sean Moran wrote in preview of the Congress, the new rule mightn't entirely get rid of cynical fouls but it will improve the situation.
The reopening of Croke Park to non-GAA games is a good financial move for the association. 93% of the delegates voted in favour of the use of the stadium if Ireland are to host a RWC in the next decade. This will give the association a large increase in income at a time of the year when they don't usually have money coming in. It will also show off a truly great Irish stadium to a worldwide audience, and references to the GAA by international media, in relation to the stadium, are sure to boost the profile of the association itself. It also gives the IRFU a chance to increase support for the game in Ireland in a way that Italia '90 did for soccer. The increased exposure for rugby is sure to increase the sport's popularity within the country, and this is an interesting move by the GAA.
Another really positive move from the GAA was the passing of a motion which will see the use of hawkeye in Croke Park. Although the work of umpires, volunteer work at that, is appreciated, it is so often of poor quality. A famous example recently was Kildare having a first-half score against Down marked off in the 2010 All-Ireland semi-final, while Dublin nearly avoided being awarded a clear score in 2012's Leinster Final against Meath. It was eventually awarded after a replay on the big screen clearly showed the ball going over the bar. Any move that can lessen the likelihood of human error costing a team dearly is to be admired.
Motion 16, an increase in the length of the advantage rule, failed to get the required two-thirds majority. It's disappointing that it did not pass, but it also decreases the likelihood of frees being awarded a long time after a foul was committed. This should, in turn, decrease the likelihood of ire from the stands. A failure to introduce the mark has its negatives, in that a dying skill of the GAA will not receive support from Central Council. It's failure avoids unnecessary stoppages however, and thus should compliment the hoped lessening of cynical fouls, in allowing for a faster, more free flowing game.
As such, it is fair to say that the GAA's Annual Congress for 2013 has been a successful one. We will hopefully see a more free flowing game from 2014 onwards, in which the best footballers are the most successful. Managers will have to re-think their tactics, and a more free flowing and high scoring form of football might come about as a result.
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