Unsportsmanlike conduct in the GAA

[muppet]

From sledging to hair ruffling, from diving for frees/penalties to professional fouls, to the ridiculous sight of hurlers shouldering each other like horny bullocks fighting for no purpose at all, when the ball isn't even in play.......

Why do we see so much of it?
Why do so many people accept it as 'part of the game'?

I don't want to point the finger at particular players or incidents. As far as I can see, every team has some players who get involved to some degree. I am more interested in why match officials do nothing about it, why pundits in the main ignore it and why the GAA top brass fail to deal with it.

It looks terrible, it annoys the crowd no end and sets a terrible example for kids who mimic their heroes week in week out. It can turn a wonderful spectacle into an eye-sore and ruin the enjoyment for many. So why do we put up with it?

[seafoid]

Tackling is a mess. Reffing  is amateur. Refs overloaded. No TV input for big games that hinge on moments. Very like financial regulation.

[Tony Baloney]

When someone else gets involved in playacting it's cheating, when your own team does it, it's establishing a competitive advantage. Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney were at it for years and were rarely called out by English commentators who believed it was the scourge of Johnny Foreigner. Tyrone are experts at it and it has been very a successful weapon in their arsenal so they aren't going to stop it. It won't disappear so there have to be severe retrospective penalties imposed.

[Jinxy]

From sledging to hair ruffling, from diving for frees/penalties to professional fouls, to the ridiculous sight of hurlers shouldering each other like horny bullocks fighting for no purpose at all, when the ball isn't even in play.......

Why do we see so much of it?
Why do so many people accept it as 'part of the game'?

I don't want to point the finger at particular players or incidents. As far as I can see, every team has some players who get involved to some degree. I am more interested in why match officials do nothing about it, why pundits in the main ignore it and why the GAA top brass fail to deal with it.

It looks terrible, it annoys the crowd no end and sets a terrible example for kids who mimic their heroes week in week out. It can turn a wonderful spectacle into an eye-sore and ruin the enjoyment for many. So why do we put up with it?

Because Tyrone.

[blanketattack]

The US has its gun control and cop murder issues, France has its Jihadism issues and we've our bad sportsmanship and defense minded tactics in the GAA.

[Esmarelda]

From sledging to hair ruffling, from diving for frees/penalties to professional fouls, to the ridiculous sight of hurlers shouldering each other like horny bullocks fighting for no purpose at all, when the ball isn't even in play.......

Why do we see so much of it?
Why do so many people accept it as 'part of the game'?

I don't want to point the finger at particular players or incidents. As far as I can see, every team has some players who get involved to some degree. I am more interested in why match officials do nothing about it, why pundits in the main ignore it and why the GAA top brass fail to deal with it.

It looks terrible, it annoys the crowd no end and sets a terrible example for kids who mimic their heroes week in week out. It can turn a wonderful spectacle into an eye-sore and ruin the enjoyment for many. So why do we put up with it?

Interesting questions and ones I've wondered about. Why is diving the worst crime imaginable in sport in this part of the world but a tug on the jersey isn't?

I think, in the case I've mentioned, it's because diving is seen as the antithesis of manliness. Only a big girl's blouse would lower themselves to it. Fouling is just boys getting stuck into each other. In soccer in the likes of Spain and Portugal it's probably seen as the other way around. Culture I suppose is the short answer.

Some people will argue "what's the harm in a bit of row or shouldering each other for no reason?" and in some ways they have a point. Not everyone necessarily thinks it's an eye sore. They see it as a battle and part of that battle is letting your man know you're there.

I'm with you though, I think it makes us look like cave men.

[muppet]

The US has its gun control and cop murder issues, France has its Jihadism issues and we've our bad sportsmanship and defense minded tactics in the GAA.

Yes, because that is a valid comparison.

[TabClear]

From sledging to hair ruffling, from diving for frees/penalties to professional fouls, to the ridiculous sight of hurlers shouldering each other like horny bullocks fighting for no purpose at all, when the ball isn't even in play.......

Why do we see so much of it?
Why do so many people accept it as 'part of the game'?

I don't want to point the finger at particular players or incidents. As far as I can see, every team has some players who get involved to some degree. I am more interested in why match officials do nothing about it, why pundits in the main ignore it and why the GAA top brass fail to deal with it.

It looks terrible, it annoys the crowd no end and sets a terrible example for kids who mimic their heroes week in week out. It can turn a wonderful spectacle into an eye-sore and ruin the enjoyment for many. So why do we put up with it?

Interesting questions and ones I've wondered about. Why is diving the worst crime imaginable in sport in this part of the world but a tug on the jersey isn't?

I think, in the case I've mentioned, it's because diving is seen as the antithesis of manliness. Only a big girl's blouse would lower themselves to it. Fouling is just boys getting stuck into each other. In soccer in the likes of Spain and Portugal it's probably seen as the other way around. Culture I suppose is the short answer.

Some people will argue "what's the harm in a bit of row or shouldering each other for no reason?" and in some ways they have a point. Not everyone necessarily thinks it's an eye sore. They see it as a battle and part of that battle is letting your man know you're there.

I'm with you though, I think it makes us look like cave men.

Is claiming a sideline ball when you know you played it last any different to diving for a free? Not in my view?

[Esmarelda]

From sledging to hair ruffling, from diving for frees/penalties to professional fouls, to the ridiculous sight of hurlers shouldering each other like horny bullocks fighting for no purpose at all, when the ball isn't even in play.......

Why do we see so much of it?
Why do so many people accept it as 'part of the game'?

I don't want to point the finger at particular players or incidents. As far as I can see, every team has some players who get involved to some degree. I am more interested in why match officials do nothing about it, why pundits in the main ignore it and why the GAA top brass fail to deal with it.

It looks terrible, it annoys the crowd no end and sets a terrible example for kids who mimic their heroes week in week out. It can turn a wonderful spectacle into an eye-sore and ruin the enjoyment for many. So why do we put up with it?

Interesting questions and ones I've wondered about. Why is diving the worst crime imaginable in sport in this part of the world but a tug on the jersey isn't?

I think, in the case I've mentioned, it's because diving is seen as the antithesis of manliness. Only a big girl's blouse would lower themselves to it. Fouling is just boys getting stuck into each other. In soccer in the likes of Spain and Portugal it's probably seen as the other way around. Culture I suppose is the short answer.

Some people will argue "what's the harm in a bit of row or shouldering each other for no reason?" and in some ways they have a point. Not everyone necessarily thinks it's an eye sore. They see it as a battle and part of that battle is letting your man know you're there.

I'm with you though, I think it makes us look like cave men.

Is claiming a sideline ball when you know you played it last any different to diving for a free? Not in my view?

Nor mine.

[muppet]

From sledging to hair ruffling, from diving for frees/penalties to professional fouls, to the ridiculous sight of hurlers shouldering each other like horny bullocks fighting for no purpose at all, when the ball isn't even in play.......

Why do we see so much of it?
Why do so many people accept it as 'part of the game'?

I don't want to point the finger at particular players or incidents. As far as I can see, every team has some players who get involved to some degree. I am more interested in why match officials do nothing about it, why pundits in the main ignore it and why the GAA top brass fail to deal with it.

It looks terrible, it annoys the crowd no end and sets a terrible example for kids who mimic their heroes week in week out. It can turn a wonderful spectacle into an eye-sore and ruin the enjoyment for many. So why do we put up with it?

Interesting questions and ones I've wondered about. Why is diving the worst crime imaginable in sport in this part of the world but a tug on the jersey isn't?

I think, in the case I've mentioned, it's because diving is seen as the antithesis of manliness. Only a big girl's blouse would lower themselves to it. Fouling is just boys getting stuck into each other. In soccer in the likes of Spain and Portugal it's probably seen as the other way around. Culture I suppose is the short answer.

Some people will argue "what's the harm in a bit of row or shouldering each other for no reason?" and in some ways they have a point. Not everyone necessarily thinks it's an eye sore. They see it as a battle and part of that battle is letting your man know you're there.

I'm with you though, I think it makes us look like cave men.

Is claiming a sideline ball when you know you played it last any different to diving for a free? Not in my view?

They are both cheating and stand out if you compare with, just for example, Shane Lowry or Padraig Harrington calling a (very expensive) shot on themselves.

However most us of understand that a) these things happens in a fraction of a second and b) are not always clear cut. But sometimes it is simply cheating.

[seafoid]

Winning is all that counts  . Eg Kilkenny get away with murder. Media intervention is endemic. GAA not interested or not capable.

[muppet]

They see it as a battle and part of that battle is letting your man know you're there.

This to me is what you hear from spoofer managers and maybe the dimmer footballer/hurler.

Do these lads think a GAA player mightn't know his marker is 'there'? Could you mistakenly think he has gone for a pint or something? Or a quick fag behind the dugout?

Would tennis, for example, benefit if Roger Federer jumped across the net and had a schmozzle with Nadal?
How about the Ryder Cup. Is some of the intensity lost because Seve never shoulder charged some American while walking down the fairway?

[easytiger95]

They see it as a battle and part of that battle is letting your man know you're there.

This to me is what you hear from spoofer managers and maybe the dimmer footballer/hurler.

Do these lads think a GAA player mightn't know his marker is 'there'? Could you mistakenly think he has gone for a pint or something? Or a quick fag behind the dugout?

Would tennis, for example, benefit if Roger Federer jumped across the net and had a schmozzle with Nadal?
How about the Ryder Cup. Is some of the intensity lost because Seve never shoulder charged some American while walking down the fairway?

Absolutely - I'd actually watch it them 

[The Stallion]

Cheating is cheating, regardless of whether it's diving or pulling jersey's or claiming a sideline ball you know should go to the other team.

I see players from my own club at it all the time and it's frankly pathetic. The win at any cost mentality is lamentable. Unfortunately some people won't accept this viewpoint and believe the end justifies the means.

[OgraAnDun]

They see it as a battle and part of that battle is letting your man know you're there.

This to me is what you hear from spoofer managers and maybe the dimmer footballer/hurler.

Do these lads think a GAA player mightn't know his marker is 'there'? Could you mistakenly think he has gone for a pint or something? Or a quick fag behind the dugout?

Would tennis, for example, benefit if Roger Federer jumped across the net and had a schmozzle with Nadal?
How about the Ryder Cup. Is some of the intensity lost because Seve never shoulder charged some American while walking down the fairway?

You can't compare contact and non-contact sports in this way. It's like saying should we put a 40m high net along the halfway line in Thurles or give teams extra points if they manage to stick it over the bar after less than 5 passes.