MAYO BOSS JAMES Horan believes the GAA have gone “overboard” with recent “reactionary” rule changes in Gaelic football, and has called for a review.

Several inter-county managers have slammed the changes in recent weeks, the advanced mark and penalty rule two in particular to come under fire through the league.

Many feel they are having a negative impact on the game; the former awarded when a forward catches a 20-metre kick pass which crosses the ’45 line, and the latter given if a cynical foul is committed on an attacking player inside the 20-metre semi-circle arc. The offender is also sin-binned for 10 minutes.

They’re two Horan finds particular fault with, mentioning them first when rules came into conversation at yesterday’s EirGrid Timing Sponsorship Launch.

Another the Ballintubber man is “not sure of” is the discontinuation of the maor foirne role.

“If you’re asking my opinion, I think we’ve gone overboard on rule changes,” the Green and Red manager said. “I think some of them have been reactionary.

“Some of them, in my opinion, haven’t worked; the advanced mark, the penalty rule, is it going to throw up a few things during the championship? It probably will. You’d hate for games to be decided on some of those rule changes. I think a bit of calm is needed.

“I think some of the things, I don’t know where or who or how they’re generated, what’s the science behind some of them, or what was the intended benefits of some of them.

“I’ve said this before, and I keep saying it, that even a couple of years ago when there was an awful lot of shouting, you know, ‘The game is too defensive,’ or, ‘The game is too cynical,’ the game evolves itself naturally at a high level and I think Gaelic is in the healthiest shape it’s possibly ever been in with the highest standard of football.

“Just look at the league campaigns we’ve just had, some of the games and some of the standards, the scoring rates in some of those games, so I’m not sure we need to mess with some of the rules that we are. That’s just my opinion. That’s where I’d be at on it.”

When asked why he thinks Gaelic football has been subjected to so many rule changes, Horan continued:

“Again, four or five years ago, there was a bandwagon around Gaelic football of changes and ‘It was this,’ and, ‘It was that’. There was certainly a narrative around it that was generated, maybe it was from some people, some commentators, some journalists… I don’t know, that it needed to change, I was never convinced that it was (broken).

“I think it took hold a little bit maybe with the powers that be. I think if you look at the game that is being played now, some of the rules that were introduced, some of them aren’t used or are of no benefit to the game. So definitely a review I think is on the cards.”

Elsewhere, Horan also shared his hopes that the GAA will get more fans into matches as the championship progresses. 

As of now, 100 spectators are permitted to attend club and inter-county games in the 26 Counties and where a ground has a minimum accredited capacity of 5,000, a maximum of 200 spectators can attend. Other bigger matches are being trialled as test events with larger crowds.

From 5 July, it’s proposed that up to 200 may be allowed attend, and up to 500 in grounds with a minimum capacity of 5,000. This will all depend on progress in broader society, though.

With some stadiums at full capacity for Euro 2020, Horan has shared the wider view that more fans should be at games on these shores.

“I think we’ve been very cautious, maybe over cautious on certain aspects. It’s not the same without people there and just the general energy that sways around games when people are there.

“So I’d be delighted when it’s safe… and I think it’s quickly getting there that we could certainly have more people at games, even now.”

His side open their 2021 championship tilt with the Connacht quarter-final against Tony McEntee’s Sligo at Markievicz Park on Saturday, having recently secured immediate league promotion back to Division 1.

“With Mr McEntee and Joe Keane and a lot of those guys, they have a lot of Mayo knowledge of a lot of the players. I’m sure they’ll be utilising all of that to try to get the best performance they can.

“Traditionally, going up to Markievicz in a sort of a one-off game against a team with nothing to (lose), all that sort of stuff adds up and can stack up into a fired up performance. They have a sprinkling of good players in there so it boils back to us building on what we did in the league and trying to get better.

“I feel we’re doing that and we’re in a strong place. So I’m looking forward to getting up there for 4.30 and us giving the best performance we can.”