Jim McGuinness believes that the addition of the advance mark to Gaelic football has been a "disaster".
The rule allows a player an uncontested shot on goal if the ball is caught cleanly inside the 45m from a kick pass which travels at least 20m without touching the ground.
"Looking at it and the way it's panning out, it's a disaster," McGuinness told Sky Sports GAA show 'Inside the Game'.
"I just don't get what it's doing for the game, apart from the stop-start effect of it. I think teams are taking advantage of it. There was one in Monaghan [vs Meath], the ball went about five metres forward, but it went 20 metres on the diagonal."
The former Donegal manager feels that the rule is "killing the art of defending".
"When Peter [Canavan] got the ball in his hands, that moment was the moment the whole stadium would go, what's going to happen now? Because you're playing against brilliant defenders, 'who is going to win that battle?'
"There is no battle now! The only battle is if you can get out in front of your man. Maybe you can push him in the first instance to get that first metre."
McGuinness thinks that if the kick from which a mark is called had to be taken from outside 65m line and that if the catch had to be made over the player's head, it would be an improvement on the rule.
"They're not winning the ball above their head," he said.
"They're winning the ball on their chest. So it's not encouraging the high catching that we thought it was going to encourage. It's not encouraging long [kicking], because people are kicking the ball five metres outside the 45.
"In theory, you could produce players that are free-takers, very poor quality players, but are really quick. And they could put five, six points on the board for you.
"For me, there's just so many negatives. I just don't understand what they are trying to achieve with it.
"I think it belittles the championship to be honest, and everyone who has kicked a point in earnest in championship football. It's just a terrible rule in my opinion."
Picture credit: Sportsfile
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