Despite securing a 1-20 to 1-12 win over Dublin last night in the Athletic Grounds, Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney wasn’t a happy man.
The All-Ireland-winning manager spoke to Paul Keane of the Irish Examiner about goalkeepers being punished for slow kick-outs, which happened three times last night with tap-over frees as a result given against Evan Comerford (twice) and Ethan Rafferty (once) for not getting their kick-outs within 20 seconds.
"There was not one of those kick-outs that he blew tonight that was over 15 seconds," McGeeney said.
"How do you have a rule with' maybe'? People are just getting carried away with themselves.
"And now we're told when you pass the ball back into the square, it's only one pass. So you're only allowed one pass. And next, we'll be told you're only allowed to do it when the sun shines into the east. What is it they want us to do? Do they not want goalkeepers to touch the ball?"
Kieran McGeeney claims new rules prevent teams from having tactics
The Armagh boss then revealed his belief that the new rules were removing individual team's tactics from the game, and leaving everyone playing football the same way.
You're not allowed to have tactics," he said. "Listen, they (referee decisions) are having huge impacts on games. You're sitting there after maybe hitting three points in a row, and next thing, a free goes against you, and it's a point. The punishment far outweighs the crime, far outweighs it. You're just giving (away) a point. A 13-meter free, or a 20-meter? That's some punishment!
Listen, I know most of this stuff will make headlines, and I'll probably get it in the ear, but I still cannot understand how you can have a free (for goalkeeper time wasting) where you don't know what the time is. And even with that, you need a time clock then to be able to establish that. If they want to work on 'maybes, work on the tackle or something.
Amid concerns that goalkeepers may be prevented from joining out-field play under a revised set of new rules, McGeeney sounded his concern for how that would affect Armagh's preparations for the championship and Ethan Rafferty's key role in their tactics.
We're four weeks out from Championship, tactically, many teams have spent a lot of time on it. And yet depending on their whim (it could change).
Armagh now has Division One safety secured for 2026 and turns its attention to Antrim in Ulster.
