The GAA is to act on the matter of too many substitutes being used in a match. Prompted by last week's controversy involving Na Fianna and Sarsfields, measures are to be considered to prevent a similar embarrassment befalling Croke Park during next summer's championships.

Na Fianna introduced a sixth substitute by mistake at the end of their Leinster semi-final replay which they won by nine points the weekend before last. The penalty in the Official Guide for such a transgression is to forfeit the match. The Leinster Council awarded the match to Sarsfields who then offered a rematch to their opponents.

Paraic Duffy, the chairman of the GAA's Games Administration Committee, says that the prospect of misunderstandings concerned him last summer.

"My fear is what happens if something like this occurs in a big championship match, like a provincial final, and some team bring on an extra sub without thinking. Since the number of subs was increased to five, I've felt that there was a danger this might happen. Subs tend to be brought on as a match is nearing the end, there's a lot happening in a short space of time and if it's close not everyone's paying attention. We need to look at it.

"I'm not in any way critical of the Leinster Council because they had to find a way out but this is an issue for the future. If that means looking at the rule again, let's do that. If a rule is tested and found to be having consequences that not everyone agrees with, there's nothing wrong with saying that based on our experience this should be changed."

There is no formal proposal to amend the relevant rule, 109 (b), and county conventions are already in progress but Central Council has the power to table motions for annual Congress in April.

Among the options available is the replacement - as appropriate punishment - of forfeiture with fines or to combine the two sanctions depending on the gravity of the offence. The latter is used in Rule 109 (c), which deals with failure to notify the match referee of a team's list of substitutes.

Meanwhile, the new calendar for 2002 reveals that the Railway Cup competitions will again go ahead on a weekend basis. November 2nd and 3rd have been allocated for both the football and hurling competitions at venues yet to be named. The competition's abolition had been proposed by the GAC earlier this year but it was given a reprieve by Central Council.

The weekends of October 13th and 20th have been left vacant for the International Rules Test series. GAA president Seβn McCague gave this undertaking in Adelaide before this year's second Test in response to the chaos caused by the 2000 All-Ireland final replay being played the day before last year's first Test. It remains to be seen if similar co-operation is forthcoming from county boards in respect of club fixtures.

Finally TG4 have announced that they will be broadcasting live coverage of next Sunday's Leinster club hurling final replay between Birr and Castletown. The match takes place at 1.30 in Nowlan Park, Kilkenny. Na Fianna play Rathnew in the football equivalent in Newbridge at 2.0.