Penalty shootouts to be scrapped under proposals from new GAA reform group

An 'overtime showdown' has been put forward as a replacement.

A new GAA reform group headed by former Dublin footballer Jim Gavin have put forward a proposal to scrap penalty shootouts from the senior game.

The Football Review Committee was put together by Gavin earlier this year after a request to review the rules of the game by GAA president Jarlath Burns.

Burns had previously said that he detected a frustration among people watching Gaelic football and asked Gavin to chair a group with the aim of ‘making Gaelic football a more enjoyable spectacle’.

Of the twelve motions that have already been submitted ahead of Congress in 2025, the standout one is a recommendation to scrap penalty shootouts altogether and replace them with something called an 'overtime showdown'.

The concept would see play restart as normal after full-time but once a team scores, the other must match that feat at the other end from the restart.

If they don’t they lose the game there and then but if they do, there is one further play, starting with a throw-in, to determine the winner.

Considering penalty shootouts have already decided seven football Championship ties since 2022, it's a decision that will greatly affect the game going forward.

All-Ireland holders Armagh have been the biggest losers when it comes to penalty shootouts with four high-profile defeats, including two in Ulster finals, in the last three seasons.

Another new proposal is that a player can be sent off for any head-to-head contact, even if accidental, similar to rugby.

If top GAA officials back the scheme, the proposals will go before a November 30 Special Congress with a view to implementing them at all levels from January 1.

Considering Gavin is joined on the FRC by top football figures like Éamonn Fitzmaurice, James Horan, Michael Murphy, Colm Collins and Malachy O’Rourke - leading many to believe that the group have a great deal of power.

Speaking to the Irish Independent in February, Burns said: "In the past year, I have received hundreds of letters, some offering me congratulations, others offering me advice, many getting an early say in for tickets though I would say a good 80 per cent have focused on Gaelic football, what is wrong with it, and how it can be fixed.

"I am not going to go into the minutiae of what is wrong, or how we can solve it here. But I will say the following. 2025 will be a rule change Congress. We have asked for your proposals to come in from county conventions in 2023. This was a good idea.