'Overtime showdowns' and black cards for tactical fouls on the agenda for ambitious FRC

The GAA's Football Review Committee is considering changes to the rules that would make tactical fouls a black-card offence and replacing penalty shootouts or even extra-time with an 'overtime showdown’.

Its wide-ranging proposals, which are still under debate by the committee itself, include multiple possible rule changes intended to reward attacking play and kick passing as part of one of the stated goals to "examine the pacing and flow of Gaelic football matches, considering options to maintain a balance between tradition and introducing innovations that could increase the overall entertainment value for spectators."

The FRC’s other core proposals, many of which have been previously flagged, are:

The proposed rule changes were explained in a briefing today to the Gaelic Writers’ Association by Jim Gavin, the six-time All-Ireland-winning former Dublin manager now chairing the FRC, whose members included the likes of former Donegal star Michael Murphy, ex-inter-county managers Eamonn Fitzmaurice, Colm Collins and James Horan, and incoming Tyrone boss Malachy O’Rourke.

Gavin said that there had been 7,500 responses to a public survey, followed by a series of surveys and focus groups with coaches and players, and stakeholder meetings with the GAA’s various units.

"People like the game but there are specific elements they want to see enhanced," said Gavin.

"They like kick-passing, they like long-range scores, they like high-fielding, they like creativity and they like goals."

Trial games took place between club sides in Mullingar, Bekan (Mayo), National Games Development Centre (x2) and Ennis over the summer, where the proposed rules were tweaked.

Despite the numerous proposed changes, some often-debated elements of the game are