The solution to hurling’s handpass blight is quite simple

Sir, – Denis Walsh’s article about the problem with the handpass in hurling comes with a very accurate headline (“Hurling’s handpass has turned into a botched nose-job on the face of the game,” Sport, August 24th). For quite a few years now, illegal handpassing – also known as ball-throwing in simulation of handpassing – has been a big problem.

The article references former Limerick hurler Séamus Flanagan’s recent admission on Off The Ball of players throwing the ball. A couple of suggestions to help resolve this blight on the sport are offered, such as giving linesmen more powers to intervene if they detect a fouled pass. Another suggestion in the article is to install a microchip in the sliotar that will detect if it is thrown or struck with the hand.

Neither of these suggestions are reliable. There is always the possibility of linesmen being unsighted, leaving them to engage in guesswork about the legitimacy of a handpass. Similarly, one would have to question the reliability of a microchipped sliotar.

Denis Walsh has missed an opportunity to propose a more pragmatic solution that will definitively eliminate ball-throwing from hurling. My suggestion is to introduce a new rule prohibiting players from handpassing the ball directly from the hand that is holding it. Indeed, this rule could be trialled while waiting on a reliable microchipped sliotar to be developed. – Yours, etc,