Although most attention focused on Davy Fitzgerald's last-minute penalty flying over the bar for a point, Saturday's All-Ireland club replay in Thurles brought into focus an anomaly in the rules.

The incident which led to the award saw Graigue-Ballycallan goalkeeper Johnny Ronan deliberately bring down Sixmilebridge substitute Robert Conlon as he was rounding Ronan. Referee Dickie Murphy gave a penalty but took no further action, as he had had no meaningful way of redressing a situation where foul play effectively won a match.

There are no means in Gaelic games of punishing players for what might be classed breaches of sportsmanship - or professional fouls as they are called in soccer. Fouls are divided into technical and aggressive but there is no category which penalises illegal activity which stops a score being taken.

Murphy's decision to award the penalty could have been significant as it was two years ago in the championship when Fitzgerald goaled in injury-time to draw a match Clare were losing to Tipperary. In this circumstance, however, it wasn't and because the sanction provided for the player who fouls is inadequate, it effectively provides an incentive to foul.

Fr Seamus Gardiner, PRO of the national referees workgroup, points out that there is a prescribed punishment for what happened. "Bringing down a player is a bookable offence. The offender should be cautioned. All we can do is interpret the rules as they are and recommend procedures for implementing them. Even then, we have to go through the Management Committee and Central Council."

But on a personal basis, does he believe the provisions are adequate? "I'd go with the rule as it is but it's often not enforced."

Unfortunately the rule as it is, is unsatisfactory. Maybe it's because the frequency of one-on-one fouls in football and hurling is low but there has been no push to emulate soccer and rugby in their treatment of such incidents.

Foul play deemed by the referee to have prevented a try in rugby leads to a penalty try being awarded and the conversion is placed under the posts. Soccer provides the `last man back' rule under which a defender or goalkeeper is sent off for committing a foul like Saturday's.

Not that it was Ronan's fault. He played the rules as they were - which effectively meant that he had nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing what he did.

"Oh I had to bring him down, I had no choice, he was straight through on goal," Ronan told Diarmuid O'Flynn in the Irish Examiner.

Given the deterrent available, he was probably right. But if the foul carried a red card in consequence, would the situation not have altered for the goalkeeper?

Presumably it would have, as a sending-off would have carried a suspension which would have ruled him out of the All-Ireland club final.

Saturday's result would have grossly distorted the match had Sixmilebridge won but that's not the point. Playing rules are there to ensure that better players don't have their natural advantages negated by foul play. At present the rules governing these situations don't fulfil that basic purpose.

There is an obvious need for rules to be introduced to enable referees to send off those whose foul play prevents a likely score.

Don't hold your breath, though, as it was only last year that a motion prohibiting any further rules changes for 10 years was accepted by congress. So forwards clean through on goal will have to keep looking over their shoulders.