Tipperary native Russell, who took charge of the 1990 and 1995 All-Ireland finals, expressed “great reservations” with regards to the handpass quota.

He said linesmen and umpires will have to be involved in the counting of the passes in an effort to assist overburdened referees.

“Where there will be problems,” remarked Russell, “is when two handpasses in quick succession is followed by a lengthy passage of play where the player in possession goes on a solo run and ships a couple of tackles in the process. He could then handpass the ball and the referee is trying to think back to the start of this play and whether there were two or three handpasses.

“A handpass might be given in a cluster of players that a referee might not see. If the three handpasses arrive one after another, fair enough. But that’s not going to happen too often. Referees are going to run into problems because of such. And if a goal comes off four handpasses, there won’t be much patience for referees doing their best to try and enforce this new rule.”

Russell added: “There are two linesmen and four umpires and we should be using them a lot more. An umpire’s job should be a lot more than waving a flag or signalling a 65.”

Meanwhile Curley is confident the restriction on handpasses will improve the game but, equally, won’t make life any easier for the men in black.

“Anything that will improve the game as it is played at the moment is to be welcomed,” the 1999 All-Ireland final referee insisted.

“I don’t like football at the moment, the way it is being played. I find it hard to watch, at times. The entertainment value is not great. That said, the less interference you have with rules, the better.

“In this instance, I don’t think [improvement] can be achieved without the rule changes that are being proposed.

“The handpass is going to be the most difficult to police. It is going to require a high level of concentration on the part of referees.

“There are so many sequences where three handpasses can materialise and it will be tough at the beginning to implement that rule. It won’t be straightforward.”

Meath referee Cormac Reilly, who took charge of a challenge match between UCD and Carlow on Tuesday evening where the experimental rules were in play, said a splash of colour on a pitch’s markings would significantly aid referees when adjudicating on the new mark.

Russell and Curley were in agreement that a second referee was not required while these rule changes were being trialled during pre-season competitions and the league.

A recent GPA survey found players to be in favour of a second referee for the duration of this trial period.

“I never found a necessity for it during my time,” said Curley.

The game has changed since I refereed it, indeed it has changed very much.

“At that time, all the talk was about putting two referees into hurling because it was moving so quickly. Football has actually gone the other way, it has slowed down completely. It is rare you get a fast game of football. I still think one referee can handle it.

“If they are to bring in two, a very high level of consistency would have to be achieved by the two referees on the field.”

Russell, pleased to see the return of the sin-bin, even if only for black card offenders, is of the opinion a second referee should be placed high up in the stand on match-day and have a direct line to the man on the field officiating proceedings.

“You have a much better picture when you are up in the stand. You’d be saying to yourself, how did a referee not spot a particular incident?

“But on ground level, a referee can miss something if his positioning is not right. And if you can’t see it, you can’t blow for it.

“If you had somebody up in the stand, they can assist you, letting you know via earpiece if there was a foul. People wouldn’t like the stop-start nature which that might cause. People want constant flow. But we have to put the structures in place which enable a referee to do their job to the best of their ability.”