Who would be a goalkeeper? The Football Review Committee (FRC) have introduced a bevy of rule changes that have made football more enjoyable to watch, but some aspects have made it especially tough for the netminders.
The decision to penalise goalkeepers if they fail to kick a free in the space of 20 seconds has caused some debate, as some managers felt it was introduced without proper communication.
We haven’t seen many teams penalised yet, but it was a huge subplot in the frenetic Armagh v Dublin game on Saturday evening. Dublin’s Evan Comerford and Armagh’s Ethan Rafferty were both pinged for breaking the infringement, resulting in tap-over frees.
The inter-county pool of referees met with members of the FRC the previous week to discuss the time taken to remove kick-outs. Last November, the FRC introduced a rule at Special Congress that wasting time over a kick-out will result in a free from the defending 13-metre line. Previously, it would have resulted in a throw-in.
The topic was discussed at halftime on the Saturday game with Joanne Cantwell and her crew. The subject was an incident in the first half where Comerford was whistled for breaking the 20 second rule, which turned into an Armagh point by Conor Turbitt. RTÉ then said he had held the ball over time by one and a half seconds.
“Evan Comerford has a guideline of 20 seconds to take the kickout he was penalised for, and the free was given to Armagh. We counted 21 and a half seconds.” Cantwell said to pundits Peter Canavan and Paul Flynn.
Interestingly Peter Canavan, who is currently on the FRC, said he believes the rule is very harsh on teams and goalkeepers.
“Yeah, very harsh, in my opinion,” Canavan said.
"But to begin with, Comerford sprinted out, so he’s entitled to give himself a bit of time as there’s no real breeze.
There’s no real reason to waste time here. The referee is well within his rights. Twenty seconds was the guideline given.
Still, I think it's harsh because 20 seconds in itself for any kickout is asking a lot for a goalkeeper to get it out, so ironically, it took longer to get the ball. Conor Turbitt was 20 seconds waiting before he got it. I think it's very harsh on Dublin.”
Cantwell added that the resulting free converted by Turbitt took 11 seconds longer than the original penalty. She also had a great line to Canavan reminding him that he was an FRC member.
“Just a reminder that the FRC comes up with these guidelines, Peter and you are meeting again on Monday as well. It takes 31 seconds for Conor Turbitt to convert his free kick.”
Speaking after the game, Armagh keeper Ethan Rafferty said he thought the calls were harsh both on him and Comerford.
This weekend could be the making or breaking of potential new or old rules for the FRC. The time limit on the kick-out could definitely be extended or removed considering Canavan's reaction, and it will be fascinating to see what comes out of the meeting on monday.
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