Two years into its introduction and the Black Card continues to incite frustration among pundits and fans. Sunday Game analyst Tomás Ó Sé is the most recent complainant and it's clear that the ongoing obligation to critique every card issued in a game, is tiring the former Kerry defender.
I can't be any more blunt when I say that I'm sick of it. We all are. Look, don't get me wrong, it has to be analysed and called for what it is. But I'd much rather be talking about strengths, weaknesses, tactics. Any of us would.
Writing in the Irish Independent yesterday Ó Sé identified that that the ambiguity of the third-man tackle makes the Black Card too difficult to apply, that it's detracting from the flow of the game, and thus excessive time is spent pouring over the clips.
To me, the black card is a disaster. It's helped to diminish the third-man tackle which is good, but it has multiplied the confusion and the arguments
There is a fundamental question to it - how does anyone really know if there is intent in a tackle which brings a man to the ground? Only the player himself really knows. It just isn't clear-cut enough
Commenting on the recent succession of appeals in Gaelic Games, Ó Sé says that players were more respectful of decisions in his time even though he appealed a charge of stamping on him in 2009.
I was no angel and I had my share of red cards but I never contested them. My attitude was, if I deserved it I'd take it and get on with it.
Dublin's Diarmuid Connolly had his suspension overturned with just hours to go before the Dublin v Mayo replay, which begs the question, is this the future of discipline in the GAA?
