The Allianz Football League kicks off with a raft of rule changes designed to open up the game and increase scoring. From the 'three up' rule to a vanishing foam system, here's what to look out for this weekend.
Gaelic football has undergone more change than at any stage in the game’s history since you last sat down to watch a competitive inter-county fixture. How much of that will stick by the end of the League or the end of the year remains to be seen, with a mechanism in place that allows changes to be made on the hoof if and as required.
Some will inevitably fall and/or be tinkered with but what’s certain for now at least is that there are a raft of them being trialled in earnest this weekend in 16 fixtures as the Allianz Football League gets underway. Here’s what you should be looking out for…\The ‘three up’ rule This will be more apparent to those who are in attendance at games compared to those who are watching on TV, but most observers felt that a rule of this nature was required in some form to unclog defences and give rise to more open spectacles. How it works? Each team must have three outfield players in one half of the field at any given time. It’s difficult to police for referees and the support of their linesmen will be important. The penalty for transgressing is a 13-metre free in front of the posts. Kickout You will notice a new 40-metre arc on the field, running outside of the ‘D’ which has been part of the line-markings for 30 years now. From a kickout, the ball must travel beyond this arc, thereby encouraging contests for possession and essentially eliminating the short uncontested kickout. The two-pointer The 40m arc isn’t there just for kickouts. Balls kicked over the bar from outside it will result in teams being awarded two points. Indeed, a free awarded inside the arc can be kicked from outside it for the sake of the extra point. Goalkeeper’s role Not only do goalkeepers have to eschew the short, handy kickout - they can’t take a pass in their own half unless it’s inside the penalty area either. They can join the attack but only in the opposition half, though how many netminders have the pluck to do that remains to be seen. Solo and go This has been floated before but didn’t gain enough traction. It has merit however and is one of the new rules most likely to still be in situ come 2026. Basically, it allows a player to take a free quickly, to himself, and carry on up the field, thereby limiting the scope for cynical fouling. Dissent There are a number of layers to this. One is that a player must hand the ball to an opposition player for a free but, as FRC chairman Jim Gavin was at pains to point out this week, it only applies when the transgressor is in possession of the ball. But should they throw the ball away in that situation, or in any way deliberately impede the taking of the free, they will be hit with a 50m penalty. Similarly, the 50m penalty will apply for mouthing at the ref, but if it comes from the sideline a 13m free will be awarded. Only the team captain, or a designated player, can engage with the referee on such issues. Expanded black card The black card has certainly curbed cynicism in the game - but it hasn’t eliminated it completely and so a player will be sent to cool off for 10 minutes for holding an opposition player up, whereas previously the threshold for a black card was dragging a player to the ground. Contributing to a melee is now also a black card offence. Throw-in A relatively benign change which shouldn’t spark feverish debate. In a bid to eliminate the grappling at throw-in time at the beginning of either half, just two players will contest it with the other two midfielders joining the play from either sideline. Advanced mark Many would have preferred for this rule to be abolished altogether but it’s certainly been watered down, as advanced marks can now only be claimed from kicks delivered outside the 45 to inside the 20m line. Clock/hooter system This has been mooted several times and has long been a feature of ladies football, albeit with the time counting down. In the men’s game from this weekend, it will count upwards, with the hooter sounding to signal the end of each half. Vanishing foam Another rule which nobody was necessarily crying out for, but which looks a smart initiative all the same. Similar to soccer, the referee will spray foam to denote where a free should be taken from, meaning that free-takers will not be able to manufacture a more favourable angle to shoot at the posts.
GAEIC FOOTBALL RULES CHANGES ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE THREE UP RULE KICKOUT RULE TWO POINTERS BLACK CARD ADVANCED MARK
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