Review of yellow cards not on agenda

Disciplinary measures: The package of disciplinary measures to go before this year's Congress will not include the power to review leniently administered yellow cards.

There is however a proposed new offence of joining a melee, as well as a restructuring of the GAA's disciplinary apparatus just a year after it was overhauled at last year's Congress.

It is also being proposed to clear up any anomaly concerning last year's case involving Dublin and Kilmacud Crokes player Mark Vaughan. In future, county, provincial and All-Ireland club championships will be regarded as one competition for the purpose of suspensions.

Ironically, Vaughan, who was red-carded in Kilmacud's All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Salthill-Knocknacarra, will now miss the first match of this year's Dublin championship - a fate he successfully escaped last May, having been under suspension for a red card picked up in the 2004 Leinster championship.

News concerning the ability to revisit yellow cards will be a disappointment for the GAA's Central Disciplinary Committee, which was over-ruled on the matter last summer by the Disputes Resolution Authority.

Tyrone's Ryan McMenamin was shown a yellow card for a foul on Armagh's John McEntee during last year's replayed Ulster final. The foul was deemed by the CDC to be a red-card offence and the player was suspended before successfully appealing the punishment to the DRA.

At the time GAA president Seán Kelly said the matter would be regularised at this Congress, but it has emerged no move has been made to enshrine the power in rule. Last month it was learned the matter had been referred to the Rule Book Task Force, who decided against pursuing the proposal.

"The proposal is to stick to the DRA decision that if a referee sees something and deals with it, a disciplinary committee will not intervene," said Kelly.

"It (reviewing yellow cards) was felt to be undermining a referee's authority. I can understand not everybody will be happy with that, but I feel we're gradually coming to grips with the discipline issue."

Other disciplinary issues have a direct relevance to the disorder during the Tyrone-Dublin match even though they were presumably under consideration beforehand. The proposed offence of "taking part in a melee" is an extension of the "third man in" rule in Australian Rules, which penalises any player joining a fight between two others.

The idea that counties could be deducted National League points for misbehaviour on the field did not attract consensus support from the task force and is not part of the proposed changes.

The Tyrone and Dublin players suspended recently were charged under the general Rule 140 - discrediting the association - and should this new proposal be incorporated into the rules, it will leave players open to a specific charge of getting involved in mass brawls.

Much of the CDC's deliberation in that case was based on video evidence, which had to be considered by a separate sub-committee, whose members were not then allowed judge the charges arising.

Under the new proposals the Central Games Administration Committee would be given a disciplinary jurisdiction to impose suspensions arising from referee's reports. In other words a red-card offence that wasn't being contested would receive the appropriate suspension from the CGAC.

Appeals or charges arising from video investigations would have to go to a new Hearings Committee, effectively the current CDC. It would be up to the CGAC to prosecute these cases before the Hearings Committee, who would then reach a verdict and impose any necessary suspensions.

This is to prevent the current situation in which the CDC formulate and adjudicate on cases.

"The proposed changes are a matter of tidying up the rules and dealing with problems in line with best practice," according to Kelly.