BY RYAN FERRY
DONEGAL Vice-Chairman David McLoone says there has been an improvement in discipline in Gaelic Football in the county over the last year and he attributes that to the new rules.
There are now greater penalties for dissent in the game while it has also sped up, meaning there are less skirmishes.
McLoone is Chairman of the Donegal CCC (Competitions Controls Committee) and he will report to convention that there were less red cards in football this year.
“There was a marked improvement in discipline which we believe can be directly attributed to the new playing rules of football.
“The ‘solo and go’ has sped the game up with less time for scuffles and melees, whilst the penalty for tactical and cynical fouling is more severe with the prospect of a two-point free being scored.
“Overall, on the field, discipline is much better with fewer cards shown and the referees also reporting less abuse toward match officials from players.
“A comparison of red cards between 2025 and 2024 highlights this point (Straight reds in 2024 – 18 Football Championship, 26 in Football Leagues, while in ’25, there were 14 straight reds in the Championship and 15 in the league).
He added: “Unfortunately there continues to be an unacceptable level of abuse towards match officials coming from sidelines from both within and outside the pitch enclosure.
“The CCC are committed to enforcing the rules and protecting our match officials in any instances of abuse and will continue so through 2026.”
It was another busy season for the CCC with a fixture programme of 831 matches taking place – 740 in football and 91 in hurling.
Naomh Conaill got their hands on the Dr Maguire Cup and McLoone said the feedback on the championship in general was good, although he suggested a potential change which could be introduced for next year.
“The format has proved favourable by giving clubs a good run with their full squads including county players, as well as a chance of staying in the competition, even if they had a tough draw for the league stage.
“The format also guarantees every club plays knock-out championship, which we believe is very important.
“Feedback again this year suggested clubs finishing in the top four should be seeded for QFs as a reward for finishing in the top places, potentially with home advantage. This should be looked at again for 2026.”
There has been some criticism in recent weeks during the Under 21 Club Championship with the group phase coming under intense scrutiny.
However, Aodh Ruadh clubman McLoone says it is popular with clubs.
“Despite some negative commentary in the media, the format is preferred by the majority of clubs.
“In line with feedback from clubs and the results of the competition survey, a fourth grade was introduced to increase competitiveness, whilst the developmental format of playing rounds of league games to knock-out stages was retained.
He added: “The issues we had with getting U21 completed earlier just had a few reasons, such as the minor competitions running later than planned, delayed start to the U21 hurling and working around Ulster club fixtures in both football and hurling.”
