Messages

1 rule needed to stop brawls. 3rd person in automatic red card and 6 month ban. Soon put the brakes on all out melees.

I think the idea sounds great, but what if a young player is getting a real hammering from his opponent, surely running in and trying to stop it shouldn't result in a 6 month ban.

It doesn't sound great at all. The 3rd man in shouldn't carry the can for the trampy behaviour of the 4th, 5th, nth man in. Also, as you sort of point out, the 3rd man mightn't actually be doing much wrong. Each individual's actions have to be viewed and punished consistently. A punch being thrown when there are 2 men involved is the same as a punch being thrown when there are 30 men involved and it must be punished equally. If we are to increase the punishment for striking, it must be all striking. If the GAA wanted to show that fighting won't be tolerated, 6 months automatically for striking would begin to tackle the problem. Seems harsh in the current environment but if you have a problem and you want it sorted, you put a bloody big deterrent in place and punish the shite outta people. It would initially be a bit of a culture shock but eventually it would just be accepted as the norm.

The 3rd man in red card is already in place. Think the suspension is min 1 game and then whatever the ref has in his report

[maybe referees refusing to officiate all games or games involving certain teams could have a big impact. That would certainly get this a bit of attention.]

I agree that a number of games is better than months (sometimes in 6 months you would not miss too much) and also remove the rubbish of "same competition". You could take the head off a man in a senior game one week and get a red card and play the reserve game the following week!
Where is the leadership from the GAA? Where is the support for the county boards who have to investigate these incidents that are happening all over the country?
Apart from someone getting killed before this is taken seriously maybe referees refusing to officiate all games or games involving certain teams could have a big impact. That would certainly get this a bit of attention.

[/b]

Anyone I've spoken to in the last week or so, to a man they've all mentioned the inevitability of the refs taking a stand if this continues

[overturned by Joe Brolly]

It's a bit rich the way they're held up as a houlier than thou club in Ulster. Successful, Football, Hurling, Camogie, Gaelteacht area, etc, etc, then they produce that carry on, the fight on pitch was bad enough but then the scenes with the supporters was utterly deplorable. Fines are not enough of a deterrent. What's needed is for teams to be removed from competitions, and long player bans that are actually enforced, and not overturned by Joe Brolly.

can you give a few examples apart from Matt Fitzpatricks ?

James Conway

So 1. You may want to look a little closer to home when discussing solicitors getting bans overturned

Punishments that might act as a detterent i.e. a thing that discourages or is intended to discourage someone from doing something.

To The Club
Pitch closure for a year (don't totally agree with this but if an incident happened in an adult code then force them to play all games away the next year and let the youth play at home) - hits clubs in the pocket too
Ban from certain competitions the following year the major one being the championship

To The Player
12 month ban from playing

What happens at the minute
To The Club
Nothing or a small fine that some benefactor can pay

To The Player
One game ban!!!!

I'd agree with all this. Supporters entering the field of play need the book thrown at them too

[overturned by Joe Brolly]

It's a bit rich the way they're held up as a houlier than thou club in Ulster. Successful, Football, Hurling, Camogie, Gaelteacht area, etc, etc, then they produce that carry on, the fight on pitch was bad enough but then the scenes with the supporters was utterly deplorable. Fines are not enough of a deterrent. What's needed is for teams to be removed from competitions, and long player bans that are actually enforced, and not overturned by Joe Brolly.

can you give a few examples apart from Matt Fitzpatricks ?

This!!!

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/krispy-kreme-it-s-morning-and-already-a-line-of-cars-snakes-through-the-car-park-1.3651995

They're f**king Doughnuts lads calm the f**k down!!

nice looking gravy rings all the same 'Screen

Grim times for football in Derry.

1/3 the thread descends into a conversation about Roscommon. Any takers.

Nope, it will be Israel's fault!

[The man is mentally retarded]

Exclusion Zone for Joe Brolly
https://m.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/exclusion-zone-can-destroy-blanket-joe-brolly-outlines-his-plan-to-make-football-a-skillbased-spectacle-once-again-37368216.html

Unbelievable. The man is mentally retarded. Imagine coming up with this idea, and then imagine printing it in a newspaper.
Joe, no one is laughing with you, everyone is laughing at you.

you may disagree but that the line in bold is out of order

Bon Iver - With God on our Side

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TPW9P-fnIE

Look, ALL counties have this kind of sh1te going on. I was told years ago the Wicklow championship was utter mayhem at times.. Lovely Wicklow, the garden of Ireland ffs. If this column and the swell of pressure on CBs by the masses helps curb this carryon, then great.
Personally I didn't know anyone had died during a melee before ie news to me.
There's collective responsibility needed, CBs to come down hard (rule changes if required)  clubs and players taking their oil, spectators etc not behaving like animals when a fight break outs on the pitch.

[I certainly wouldn't be trying to put him on a pedestal above McGregor like you appear to be trying to.]

If Fury gets beaten by Wilder his box office  is minimal,  if he wins he'll be there in April. I'm guessing they were pushing Fury's  buttons by ignoring him - quite successfully by looking at Twitter (he blocked AJ, who is taking great delight).

White looked pissed off about something on Sky's coverage afterwards but I missed the jist of it.

Whyte is a root who was lucky to hear the bell in his last fight. Nobody wants to see him fight Joshua; he got knocked out badly last time. I hear him saying he can get into AJs head, but thats balls. The only card he had was the amateur win which has been well and truly forgotten about.

I have always liked Fury but AJ has got the better off him in their latest battle. Tyson has to be able to take it considering he gives it so much. He slabbers away about hating AJ and how he will never give him the chance to fight him, yet AJ has conducted himself exemplary as usual and winded him up.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/anthony-joshua-sexist-niece-son-british-gq-interview-a8238006.html

Joshua is trapped in the stone age too, it's just he's usually better at hiding it than eejits like Fury or Wilder.

Joshua is a good guy to be honest. That's about as bad as you will find on him and its not even bad really.

Yeah just don't think about the drug dealing either and he is a good guy.

Ah I wouldn't be that sore on him regarding that he was a young fella living in inner city London.

He's turned his life around and so far seems to be a very decent role model as well as being quite grounded.

McGregor could do with taking a leaf out of Joshua's book!

Uh, there's a hell of a lot of people in inner cities that don't deal drugs. Weird way to try to wash that one away. Joshua is good at what he does; he's also got a good PR team. He's not a great person no more than McGregor is, I certainly wouldn't be trying to put him on a pedestal above McGregor like you appear to be trying to.

People need to be looking somewhere else for role models.

comedy gold !

There's not a hope in hell a fighter is beating Joshua on points on home soil no matter if he's beat around the ring. Had to laugh at that scorecard myself. As a casual enough fan his defence looked ropey enough for the entirety of that fight?

Kept getting hit with the same 2 punch combo. Lowered the defence but that's more bravado than ought else. Wilder will clip him handy enough, but will take a fair amount himself. Should be an exciting bout

Disgusting scenes at the end of the Screen Greenlough game. Are the CB gonna grow a set and hammer Greenlough for this? And this So don't judge the outcome without judging the cause.".. What the fcuk! Justifying officials being assaulted.. Pathetic, absolutely pathetic.
Absolutely disgusting that our officials can be assaulted on a football field.

Glen and the old hands of Ballinderry served up a cracking contest at Owenbeg. Some crazy decision making when 4 up by Glen who should have closed the game out midway through the 2nd half.
Hope D Mckindless is well after being stretchered off

[if you chose]

At Championship the ref usually has his umpires and linesmen with radio contact, and he's talking to them, an umpire will draw his attention to a foul or off the ball incident but the ref will let play continue and eal with it afterwards, some linesmen will let you know straight away and you may (if you chose) make a call there and then based on his call, Ive done it recently and I think its a great idea, the linesman let me know about a technical foul i didnt seen and i blew the whistle..

Interesting.  So a linesman could tell you that you missed a double bounce ,or a touch on the ground, and you could blow for the free, even though you missed it yourself?
Not sure I've seen that happen.  Only ever seem to see linesman involved when there is physical contact.

Did not know that either. Is that allowed under the rules or does it just happen in games?

http://www.gaa.ie/my-gaa/match-officials/linesmen

One linesman patrols each sideline. They change sides at half-time.

What are the Duties of the Linesman?
The linesman indicates by flag signal:

• When and where a ball crosses the sideline
• Which side is entitled to the sideline kick or puck, and
• Where the kick or puck is to be taken from

Powers of Linesmen
The linesman has the power to bring to the attention of the referee, during a break in play, any instances of foul play or incursions onto the field of play which have not been noticed by the referee. It is the duty of the linesman to report any such instances and his obligation is to do so by providing the factual situation regarding the instance.

He may choose, was what I had in brackets in my post. The technical foul that was brought to my attention was when the keeper kicked the ball from his goal and the defender was too close, there was no arguing over it either as I'd positioned myself at the 45 to watch for the mark and my linesman was positioned on the 21..

Reason why I brought it up was I've sern and been involved where (in hurling) the ref can be caught out for square balls very easily, ball pucked downfield and ref just asks his umpires 'is the man in his be square?' Job done!

There is absolutely no reason for games where they are mic'd up that they can't use the lines man live. I've seen it at inter county games, I'd say it's all unofficial but it productive rather than counterproductive.

Another one that's not on that list Gab is telling the ref, from his position behind the ball from a free that it went over the bar or not,  as sometimes the umpire is not best positioned in certain pitches .

Again if common sense prevailed then it would run a lot smoother

Thankless job. Not made any easier by the fact that to be a ref you a) have to be failed player and b)obnoxious as fcuk

Give respect, get respect