The controversy surrounding the black card rule in gaelic football reared it's ugly head once more on Saturday when Kildare and Armagh faced off in Croke Park in an All-Ireland qualifier clash.
The black card is now in it's third year in operation in the GAA, but the confusion that surrounds the rule continues to be a contentious issue.
There seems to be a new incident with every passing Championship weekend, and on Saturday, it was the lacking of a black card that caused the consternation.
An Armagh kickout was taking place. The Armagh full forward Andrew Murnin was about to make a run out the field, perhaps looking for the ball off his goalkeeper.
That's when the Kildare goalkeeper Mark Donnellan clearly and deliberately stuck out his leg to stop the Armagh man in his tracks.
https://twitter.com/eirSport/status/891364849246244865
The Armagh man fell to the ground and, but many of the watching crowd saw what happened and eventually, the referee's attention was drawn to the incident.
The referee made his way down to the other end of the pitch to consult with his umpires.
After some deliberation, the Kildare man was issued with a yellow card for his troubles.
Kildare supporters were undoubtedly delighted that their first choice goalkeeper wasn't given a black card and sent from the pitch, but Armagh fans and neutrals alike won't be happy with the constant inconsistency with this ruling.
According to the GAA rulebook, the following are the indiscretions which warrant a black card.
- Deliberate body collide (what we know as a third man tackle)
- Deliberate trip
- Deliberate pull down
- Verbal abuse to an opponent or team mate
- Remonstrating with a match official
Cian O'Neill's goalkeeper blatantly breached these rules with his deliberate trip, and the counter argument that it was an 'off the ball' incident doesn't hold any weight because it shouldn't matter.
Murnin was making a run for his goalkeeper, he mightn't have got the ball, but his run could've been a decoy.
It was a clear black card offence.
Clear as day.
https://twitter.com/MickFoley76/status/891369052035313664
https://twitter.com/Pandaallen15/status/891368752381652992
