GAA rule changes begin this weekend
The rule changes agreed at the
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There are changes for both codes, but with only NFL fixtures in the Allianz Leagues this weekend the focus will be on the three amendments for football.
- A Yellow Card does not carry into extra-time.
- Referee may consult with a neutral linesman concerning the validity of a score.
- Rule 2.3 and 4.16 – If a defending player(s) fouls at a Penalty Kick situation before the ball is kicked and a goal does not result, the referee shall give the penalty taker the option of re-taking the Penalty Kick or of having a point scored to stand.
The changes apply from Saturday April 11 so all eyes will be on the Division 1B promotion/relegation play-off between Antrim and Kerry for the first implementations of the new rules.
On Sunday there is a football League semi-final double header in Croke Park so Cork will play Donegal and Dublin will take on Monaghan under slightly different rules than those in effect for the quarter-finals and previous rounds of the Leagues.
Club hurling matches will be affected from this weekend by the changes to the rules in hurling - most notably the change to one-on-one penalties.
- Penalty – One defending player on the goal-line who may not move towards the 20m line until the ball has actually been struck. The player taking the penalty may place it up to 7m back from the 20m line and within the arc but must strike the ball on or outside the 20m line.
- A Yellow Card does not carry into extra-time.
- Referee may consult with a neutral linesman concerning the validity of a score.
- For free pucks for Technical Fouls committed inside the large rectangle and awarded on the centre point of the 20m line, a maximum of five players may stand on the goal-line and may not move forward until the ball has been struck. The player taking the free puck may place the ball up to 7m back from the 20m line and within the arc but must strike it on or outside the 20m line.
- For a 20m free puck awarded for a foul committed outside the large rectangle, all players shall stand a minimum of 20m from the point of award of the free and may not move closer to that point until the ball has been struck.
- Rule 2.4 and 4.16 – If a defending player(s) fouls before the ball is struck and a goal does not result, the referee shall give the penalty taker/free taker the option of re-taking the Penalty Puck/Free Puck or of having a point scored to stand.
- If a player taking a Penalty Puck or other Free Puck awarded on the 20m line fails to lift the ball at the first attempt or fails to strike it with the hurley, even if the action causes it to marginally cross the 20m line, he shall be allowed to strike the ball on the ground without delay.
- Advantage – Referee may allow the play to continue for up to 5 seconds after a foul; if no advantage accrues during that 5 seconds he may subsequently award a free puck for the foul. This is the same rule that has been in place in football for the past year.
It will be next weekend before we see the impact of these changes on play at inter-county level - at the League semi-final double header in Nowlan Park on Sunday April 19.
