McKenna Cup return ruled out while four-point goal is rejected

A motion before the GAA’s management committee to reverse the decision to scrap pre-season county competitions has been defeated.

At a meeting on Saturday, a motion tabled by Cavan GAA to restore the traditional January competitions, which include the Dr McKenna Cup for Ulster’s football counties, fell short of the required votes.

It had been argued that the additional games would be useful to counties in order to become more familiar with the new football playing rules.

The committee also made a number of amendments to the FRC’s proposed new rules, which will go before Congress on November 30, most notably the proposal to award four points for goal.

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That will not go forward for approval, meaning three points for a goal will remain.

The proposal for two points for the a score outside the 40m arc has been taken up, but scores for a 45 will still only yield one point.

Among the other amendments made were the mechanism for signalling a two-pointer, which will be an orange flag waved by an umpire after the referee has raised two hands in the air.

The punishment for a pass back to the goalkeeper will be a free kick from the place where the goalkeeper receives the ball or, in the case of the pass being played to him inside the 13-metre line, the free will be taken from 13m line.

It was also decided that the cup awarded to the winners for the Division One final of the Allianz Football League be renamed the Corn Mhíchíl Uí Mhuircheartaigh after the legendary broadcaster Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh who died in June.