Three years have passed since Joe Brolly [verbally] lifted Sean Cavanagh out of it live on RTE’s Sunday Game.
The Tyrone forward had, for all intents and purposes, rugby tackled Monaghan’s Conor McManus to the ground when he was clear through on goal. Cavanagh got a caution for his foul but Brolly was apoplectic, declaring that one could ‘forget about Sean Cavanagh as a man’ after the incident.
Cavanagh’s foul was not the first time an attacking player had been taken out of it. It was, however, looked upon as a catalyst for change. Sure enough, the black card was introduced in 2014 in an attempt to cut out cynical play.
Not much has changed since. Cynicism still pervades.
Dublin forward Diarmuid Connolly is not a fan of the black card, nor is he fond of the latest rule change to be introduced to football – The ‘Mark’.
During a round of media interviews on Monday to promote the AIB GAA Leinster Senior Football Club Championship Final, Connolly criticised the constant rule tweaks and offered an interesting theory on how the black card came to be. He told reporters:
“The black card has been over publicised so much. Referees are coming under scrutiny for it. Players are coming under scrutiny for it.
“People in the media… There was no need for it, I didn’t think. Just because Sean Cavanagh pulled a guy down and some clown in an RTE studio decides to throw the toys out of the pram really and make it more than it was.
“If they wanted it, in my opinion, make a rule, it would be a red card for a clear goalscoring opportunity, a yellow card for cynical play, for me. You have your two cards, there they are.”
Connolly’s sentiment – about using the yellow and red cards properly – is one that many GAA fans would agree with.
And don’t mention the idea of sin-bins to the St Vincent’s club-man. “Tried that already,” he replied. “That’s another rule that they tried and it didn’t work.”
In Connolly’s worth the issue is black or white or, rather, yellow and black.
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