The GAA's black card - a decade of debate

Happy birthday to football's black card, 10 years old today but unlikely to get too many presents in the post.

Maybe some have probably trickled through in recent years as the criticism has softened, although the poor lad has had to wait 10 minutes to open them.

The sin-bin inspiring card, handed out for 'cynical behaviour infractions’, as per the GAA’s official guide, has been the subject of debate, discussion and, let’s be honest, a whole lot of derision ever since congress gave it the green light in Derry in March 2013.

Perhaps fittingly, the first black card went to the Oakleaf County, Declan Mullan the answer to that particular quiz question. He was sanctioned by referee Brendan Rice in an O’Fiaich Cup clash with Louth, the game played under the new rule even if it was taking place nearly a month before the new punishment officially began operating.

There are Derry threads weaved throughout the implication of the black card, but not all as binding as one might think.

What of its inception?

Well, for plenty their memory bank would take them back to the 2013 All-Ireland quarter-final and Oakleaf pundit Joe Brolly, incandescent with anger, going on a solo run on The Sunday Game, entering the phrase "you can forget about Seán Cavanagh as a man" into the GAA lexicon alongside other greats such as "you can’t win a derby with a donkey", "people of Galway, we love you" and "will you put the f**king ball in".

Brolly was reacting to Cavanagh’s pulldown of Conor McManus – or Ciaran as he was commonly referred to in some media reports at the time - as he raced through for a possible, almost certain, goal that would have put Malachy O’Rourke’s side a point up with just over 20 minutes to play.

[Side-note: Despite McManus making his