Keane and Burke call on FRC for clarity and changes

Clare manager Peter Keane and Roscommon boss Davy Burke have outlined their own suggested tweaks to the current Football Review Committee rules, while calling for greater clarity in how new edicts are communicated.

Those involved in Gaelic games are all too accustomed to tournament formats and rules that seem to exist in a state of perpetual flux, but the FRC's brave new world was always one that was going to require close monitoring and an agile rather than an unyielding approach to rules that simply didn't work as designed.

With teams now compelled to keep three outfield players in each half of the pitch, Keane cited the role of the marauding goalkeeper and his ability to create an overload in the opposition half as a rule in need of altering.

#ClareGAA manager Peter Keane on the need for "clarity" re the interpretation of the new playing rules and why a change in the rules now would impact the integrity of the league and the championship #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/HukkfOjd3C — RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) March 3, 2025

"I would like to see the goalie coming out of the field being tweaked," Keane told RTÉ Sport. "I think 12 v 11 is unfair.

"Equally, I would worry about the goalkeepers' kickouts having to go outside the 40-metre arc. I worry about that in club football. Will certain goalkeepers in the depths of winter get beyond that 40m arc?

"From a management perspective, tactically, if you don't have big midfielders to compete and contest for that ball outside, you need an opportunity to be able to work a short kickout somehow.

"One of the concerns that I would have is that they wanted more kickpassing and more kicking to go on with the new rules. Looking at the data, it doesn't appear as if that is happening.

"The handpass is still the same, if not increasing. There's still over-and-back the field going on, patience football, and I think that was something we probably wanted to try and eliminate.

"Clarity would be great. There's talk that the FRC are going to change the rules in the league after Round 5.

"Does that question the integrity of the competition if you change the goalposts midstream?

"If they are going to change it, we have a Round 3 that we need to complete next week. Will that be done? Will the rules be changed for that?

"We had an issue during the week where there was a question about 20 seconds for a free out the field.

"I spoke to two inter-county referees at the weekend, and they were unaware of it.

"Clarity and communication does need to be coming to us.

"Also, if they are going to change the rules, we have literally two weeks to get them changed again for the championship to get teams ready.

"To be making all of these changes so quickly is making a farce of the championship coming."

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The FRC was meeting on Monday evening with a view to finessing rules ahead of the championship.

Burke, who has broadly welcomed and embraced the new rulebook, flagged changes he would like to see the committee make.

"I would change two points for a free," the Kildare man opined. "Any dead ball I don't think should be a two-point option.

"These guys are too highly skilled and it's just a tap over for them, so I think that really needs to go."

Burke's view related to dead balls only and not scores from play as he explained: "It's a brilliant skill when you are under pressure. If you can kick the ball over the bar, conditions allowing, when you are under pressure, fair play to you, but not from a dead ball."

The numerical advantage of having an opponent receive a red card or a black card isn't proving much of a boon under the new rules, with the team with 14 men now more than holding their own.

"It's the opposition that are getting punished," Burke insisted. "They're going to have to look at that.

The 20-second rule governing kickouts and frees, and designed to crack down on time wasting is another directive Burke takes issues with, believing referee discretion should suffice on the matter.

"There's a little too much guessing going on at the minute between the 20 seconds for a free, 20 seconds for kickouts. Refs bringing it up 50 metres, sure it could be 60, 70, 80 metres.

"There are lads being pulled after 15 seconds on kickouts.

"We don't need all this rush. There are set plays, there are tactics. Guys need a breather.

"I really would be concerned about the demands being placed on players and the lack of breathers being provided during the games."

Communication for Burke is key, as he added: "We shouldn't be hearing from a referee two minutes before throw-in that 'this is in place today, lads'.

"Surely the press release can come out on a Friday or a Monday or whatever day of the week to tell us this is what we're dealing with.

"I do think that needs to be cleaned up a bit."

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