ARMAGH footballers might well appreciate a new proposal from Jim Gavin’s Football Review Committee (FRC) which will replace penalty shootouts (and maybe even extra-time) with an ‘overtime showdown’.
All-Ireland champions Armagh lost five penalty shootouts (one Dr McKenna Cup, two Ulster finals and two All-Ireland quarter-finals) in the space of three seasons but the lottery of penalties could soon be done away with if an FRC recommendation is approved.
During their consultation period with provincial councils, the FRC received feedback that penalties were an unpopular way of deciding the outcome of a game.
Rather than putting all the onus on an individual player for missing a penalty, the FRC sought to come up with a “collective way” of deciding a drawn game and the ‘overtime showdown’ would begin at the end of normal time, or after extra-time.
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The concept will see the game begin again after full-time with a coin toss and a choice of ends and then the ball will be thrown in and the game played as normal until one team scores.
When that happens the other team gets an opportunity (from their kickout) to score and if they do so the game is tied. Then the ball returns to the referee who will throw it in again for a ‘golden score’ and the team that scores next will win the game.
FRC spokesman Jim Gavin, former Dublin manager explained the potential new ruling in the following scenarios:
“Ball is thrown up… Meath attack against Kildare, Meath score off the bat, they win the Kildare kickout - game over.
“Or, Meath attack and score a point, then Kildare attack and score a point… Ball returns to the middle and is thrown in again and whoever scores next determines the winner of the game.
“So there’ll be lots of excitement and it’ll be very unpredictable in terms of it could last two minutes or it could last 20 minutes. It’s a suggestion that we’re considering.”
The proposed new rules have been trialled at ‘sandbox’ games and more will be played before a draft report of the findings will be submitted to the GAA’s Ard Comhairle (management committee).
After that they will be used in inter-provincial games over the weekend of October 18 and 19 and then, after further input from Ard Comhairle, they will be brought forward to be voted on at a Special Congress at which they may or may not become official rules.
“We won’t put any recommendation in that we don’t want brought forward,” explained Gavin.
Meanwhile, under the umbrella term ‘game officiating’ the FRC will push forward a number of new recommendations.
Among them is the introduction of a ‘stop clock’ which will be the responsibility of the fifth official at inter-county games (it may not be introduced for club games).
Vanishing foam will be used to stop a stealthy free-taker from stealing ground and mark the exact spot for free-kicks within 65m of goal.
Also, umpires are to be given the power to report any fouls not noticed by the referee.
