Horgan criticises proposals to punish cynical fouls in hurling

Cork captain Patrick Horgan has criticised proposals to punish cynical fouls in hurling. This year’s GAA congress will consider moves to award a penalty for fouls that deliberately deny goal-scoring opportunities as well as confine any offending player to the sin bin for 10 minutes.

Horgan was speaking at the launch of Sports Direct’s new five-year sponsorship of Cork GAA when asked should such fouls not be met with heavier sanctions.

“No, I don’t think in hurling anyway. I wouldn’t be of the idea that a player gets a sin bin or whatever, a black card. I wouldn’t be interested in that. I think we’re trying to change so much about the game, a game that we all love for I don’t know how long, as long as we’re alive I suppose.

“I think we’re trying to change way too much about it...There was nothing wrong with it, so I don’t understand why we’re trying to bring in this yellow, red, black, pink – there’s all sorts of every card now.

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“You’d have to have a double take to see am I sent off for five minutes, am I sent off for . . . so I just think we just get on with the game. Obviously if a foul is worthy of a red or yellow card then fair enough, but I think introducing any other sort of sin bins would be out of the question for hurling.”

Top forward

His views were perhaps surprising for one of the top forwards in the game – he has been as All Star for the last three years – and one of the best free and penalty takers. Explaining his opposition, he appeared to believe that cynical or calculated fouling hadn’t impacted on goal- scoring and, secondly,hat it was a matter of swings and roundabouts.

“Yeah, I would nearly imagine the goals that are being scored overall in the championship is the same – it’s not up – but whatever happens on one end you can be sure it all levels out over the course of a season.

“So if anyone gets pulled down – like I could sit here as a forward and say, ‘oh yeah, if I get pulled down the player should be sent off’ or whatever – but then your own team are probably going to end up doing that at some stage of the year as well.

“It comes around to everyone and that’s just the game, and that’s the way the game is played. So I wouldn’t get too into it. I just wouldn’t change it.”

In fact goal-scoring is very much in decline. Only last December the All-Ireland between Limerick and Waterford was the first goal-less final in 16 years, and the goals per match ratio has fallen consistently from 3.3 in 2007 to 2.4 last year, statistics published coincidentally in Cork’s Evening Echo by Christy O’Connor.

Perfectionist

Cork manager Kieran Kingston appointed former MacCarthy Cup-winning player and manager Dónal O’Grady to his team for next year, a move that has enthused Horgan, who recalled watching the successful campaign of 2004.

“You can see the way he had his team set up and the way he had his players all in sync and all on the same page that he’d be a perfectionist. It’s very exciting for us because we can look to this fella now coming in giving advice that has been there, done it and he knows the story.

“His hurling brain is something else as well. We’ve had a couple of Zoom chats with him, and his hurling brain, there’s no end to it. It’s exciting.”

He was also asked about the sponsorship link with Sports Direct, belonging to controversial Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.

“I’d say he probably has bigger fish to fry now than a hurling team in Cork. It’s good, I think, that Sports Direct are trying to get into the GAA world, and obviously they’ve done through a couple of clubs up to now, but I think it’s a big step for them and Cork teaming up at county level.

“To be honest I’m just looking forward, and I can imagine everyone in Cork is feeling the same.”