Sport

Kenny Archer: GAA has to toughen punishments for the eye-gougers and neck-wrenchers

Kenny Archer

Kenny Archer

Kenny is the deputy sports editor and a Liverpool FC fan.

Ugly scenes at the end of normal time of the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final between Armagh and Galway. <br />Pic Philip Walsh
Ugly scenes at the end of normal time of the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final between Armagh and Galway.
Pic Philip Walsh
Ugly scenes at the end of normal time of the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final between Armagh and Galway.
Pic Philip Walsh

THAT was a great wedding, wasn't it? Apart from the best man getting his eye gouged, but sure we'll not talk about that…

I was at a brilliant concert last night. The band played all the hits. A roadie jumped on stage and gouged the eye of the bass player, but otherwise the show passed off without incident.

Who would say things like that?

No one sane, that's for sure.

Yet we've had people twisting their sodden knickers in fury on social media because RTE dared to focus on the disgraceful eye-gouging attack on Galway footballer Damien Comer at the end of normal time of Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-final against Armagh.

Yes, it was a thrilling game of football - but do you seriously expect eye-gouging, by a current Armagh player (albeit one who is out injured) to merely be given a passing mention?!

Wise up.

The only person to blame for the post-match coverage was Tiernan Kelly, who gouged Comer.

Allegations that 'anti-Ulster bias' were motivating the commentary are utter rubbish.

Sure, some people will always criticise Ulster teams: witness the moaning about how Derry play even after they stuck five goals and 13 points - 11 of those from play - past Clare.

Yet eye-gouging is beyond the pale.

Oisin McConville, as ever, was excellent, and said that what had happened was completely wrong; the great John McEntee condemned it on Twitter too. However, a few former Armagh players who always seem to have their phone to hand whenever a Tyrone man commits any misdemeanour, have been strangely quiet on Twitter this weekend.

The 'But Comer started it' argument is a playground level response. Yes, he shoulder-barged Armagh's James Morgan and then got involved in rowing with a few other Armagh players - but no one deserves to have their eye gouged.

To be fair, there wasn't a lot else wrong in what followed: otherwise it was mostly pushing and pulling, bumping and barging, shoving and dragging - but eye-gouging dragged it down to the gutter

Grabbing a fella around his neck and wrenching him to the ground is dangerous too.

That's what the GAA needs to punish - the assaults on eyes and necks.

Typically, in the way that referees almost always penalise clean tackles of the ball, the officiating that followed was awful.

It was utterly mind-boggling to punish Galway captain Sean Kelly and Armagh attacker Aidan Nugent - neither, as far as I have seen from watching the video a few times, did much wrong; in fact both were trying to calm people down.

Kelly's 'crime' seemed to be incredulously reprimanding the eye-gouger, and giving him a mild push.

Others did far worse, including the Armagh player literally jumping into the fray, and the Galway sub who - albeit understandably - punched Tiernan Kelly.

The GAA rules must be changed to prevent a repeat of such incidents.

The GAA continues to punish cynicism more severely than thuggery.

It's better to get red carded in the closing seconds of a Championship match rather than black carded.

Don't believe me?

Rule 2.5 states the following:

Players in Extra Time

(a) Any fifteen players may start Extra Time. Exceptions: (i) As provided in (b) and (d) below. (ii) A player in receipt of a Black Card and ordered to the Sin Bin for ten minutes with less than ten minutes remaining in normal time shall be one of the fifteen players but shall serve his remaining time in the Sin Bin in the Extra-Time

It's long overdue to do away with the rubbish concept that 'extra time is a new game'.

No. It's not.

It's an extension of the same game.

Just as penalties aren't 'a lottery'. They're a test of skill and nerve.

Yes, a free-taking contest might be more appropriate, although is it too soon to point out that it was an Armagh man who invented the penalty kick, so they know where the blame lies? But I digress.

If you get sent off during normal time, your team should still be a man short in extra time. Greg McCabe did not mean to draw blood from his opponent but when an attempted shoulder hits frontally, a red card is likely.

Yet injuring opponents can actually be planned in the GAA.

If I were a cynical manager, I'd give my players the following instructions if the game was tight, or level in the closing stages:

'If the opposition look like scoring, commit a yellow card offence - i.e. literally hold them up. If that doesn't stop them, punch them.

'Whatever you do, don't drag them down - a red card matters less in extra time than a black card, as you can be replaced; a yellow card will be wiped off your record.'

As for the period between the end of normal time and extra time, I'd tell them this: 'Sure have a swing or two, especially if your legs are tired and you don't want to play on.

'Target the key opposition players, see if you can damage their eyes, break their jaws, wrench their necks and knees.

'The worst that will happen is that you will be red-carded, and we can still send 15 men out for extra time.

'Basically, we have a free shot in a post-match brawl - it won't reduce our team numerically.'

OK, that's taking it to the extreme.

But when it's more likely that the officials will punish those players who were actually acting as peacemakers then you may as well act the hard man.

Teams need to go into the tunnel separately, just as they enter the pitch at separate times.

Only players and management should be nearby; why was a non-playing substitute even allowed in that area?

Dublin's Philly McMahon engaged in eye-gouging on the biggest stage of all, in the 2015 All-Ireland Final; ironically on Kerry's Kieran Donaghy, who's now part of the Armagh coaching staff.

Nothing was done about that.

So eye-gouging continues. In another irony, Derry's Gareth McKinless appeared to gouge Galway captain Sean Kelly late on in this year's Division Two League meeting; at least the Ballinderry man was shown a red card.

Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney posed some questions of his own in the post-match press conference.

Had I been there, I'd have responded to 'Geezer'; I do have form for arguing with Armagh managers in that Croke Park lecture theatre.

Yes, I'd have pushed anyone who pushed me - but I wouldn't have gouged anyone's eye.

Nor would Kieran - but one of his players did.

The GAA needs to punish that act.

At present it's a minimum two-match ban, for breaching Rule 5.28, 'To inflict an injury recklessly on an opponent by means other than those stated above', which is a Category IV infraction.

Next, the GAA needs to dramatically increase the minimum punishment for eye-gouging and for neck-wrenching.

Finally, counties need to take their medicine; it was easy for McGeeney to say that afterwards, when his team weren't heading into the All-Ireland SFC semi-finals. Too often teams hand out slaps but won't accept their due punishments, with players squirming free on a technicality.

The GAA has a duty of care to players, a responsibility to protect them from dangerous opponents.