Hurling will have a sin bin for the first time this year after GAA Congress voted in favour of introducing it on a trial basis.
It will see a penalty awarded for a cynical foul that denies a goalscoring opportunity inside the 20-metre line or ‘D’, while the offending player will be yellow-carded and ordered to leave the field for 10 minutes.
It will also apply in football, where there is already a black card/sin bin rule in place in any event, but it represents a greater leap to see it introduced in hurling, whose fraternity is traditionally more resistant to rule change.
Pressure had come from the GAA’s Central Council to push ahead with the motion after a spate of cynical fouling in last year’s hurling Championship, the feeling being that that the matter needed to be tackled urgently.
The Gaelic Players’ Association had asked that the motion be deferred until later in the year, as other motions had been, after taking soundings from its membership and a number of counties, like Limerick, Galway, Kilkenny, Westmeath and London were of a similar view.
However, Offaly, Wexford, Cork and Waterford all spoke in favour, along with Connacht and Leinster representatives, and GAA president John Horan, chairing GAA Congress for the last time before handing over to Larry McCarthy, sent it to a vote, with 61% of delegates supporting the motion.
Other motions passed this afternoon at Congress include one which proposed to extend the blood sub rule to cover suspected head injuries, while the ‘maor foirne’ role has been dispensed with amid a clampdown on incursions on the playing field during games.
Additionally, teams will now be permitted to complete a game with 13 players without automatically losing the match.
