Mulvilhill advocates a radical overhaul of disciplinary process

The GAA Director General has advocated in his annual report a radical overhaul of the association's intercounty disciplinary process. At present, the system involves two committees comprised of GAA officials, the Competitions Control Committee and the Central Appeals Committee.

Any remaining issues after a case has been through these committees can be taken to the Disputes Resolution Authority, introduced two years ago to head off players and units going to the civil courts to seek redress. In his report last year, Mulvihill indicated he believed the number of cases going to the DRA meant that there were too many levels of appeal.

Yesterday, in the report that he will deliver to next month's annual congress in Kilkenny, the director general outlined his own vision of an alternative structure.

"My own opinion is that we should take discipline at intercounty level out of the hands of the present administrators entirely and bring in a three-person legal commission to deal with all offences on the field of play.

"I would retain the DRA to hear appeals against decisions of the Commission and in this way the whole system would be administered more quickly and in a more balanced, even-handed fashion.

"If we could clean up the games at central level and have justice and fair play administered in a consistent, timely and even-handed manner at that level, we could then tackle the situation at other levels.

"It may be said that the new system would be relatively expensive, but I don't think it would be too great a price to pay to clean up our games and to ensure that the cynical and illegal acts are adequately punished, and that the skilful and well-disciplined players are allowed to thrill the crowds that come to attend our games."

Mulvihill's proposal is similar to that operated by the AFL in administering discipline in Australian Rules.

Commenting on the role of the DRA, the director general was critical at the role of officials in seeking to undermine association rules in search of technicalities to exonerate those suspended.

"Unfortunately, instead of being seen as a last resort, the DRA now seems to be regarded as a forum to be headed for as quickly as possible.

"We have had instances where some of our members have sped through the other hearings, refusing to accept their findings as they went, so as to get to the DRA in the hope that they might get off on a technicality.

"The DRA have been scrupulously fair and diligent in all their hearings, but it's unfair on them - and indeed on the GAA's disciplinary system - to take cases before them that really were very straight-forward.

"It's extremely disappointing, then that we have had cases of senior county officials attempting to locate the tiniest loophole in our procedures so that they could get a player off a charge.

"The idea that county officers, who themselves are charged with administering the disciplinary system for their own club units, should then use every avenue to enable a county player to escape on a technicality is bizarre."

On the subject of Croke Park's availability to other sports Mulvihill emphasised the fact that the current facilitating of rugby and soccer internationals was dependent on Lansdowne Road securing planning permission and trenchantly set out the reasons why the GAA was concerned at potential developments.

"We will honour our commitments if Lansdowne Road receives planning permission and if the development proceeds. Any variable on that scenario, however, will be a matter for Congress and will require very careful consideration indeed.

"Our association cannot be expected to accept a vista where the competing sporting organisations have no capital investment commitments, can exploit the value of their existing infrastructure and use our facilities as a cash cow and convenience, while investing their returns in youth and games development.

"At its Congress in 2005 the GAA proved, through the overwhelming wishes of its delegates, that the concept of 'foreign games' is not an issue.

"It also proved that we had the courage, vision and commitment to provide an infrastructure that is the envy of many and that we had the confidence and benevolence to help out when others needed us for a limited period.

"We cannot, however, be taken for granted or exploited and the other sporting organisations have an obligation in terms of planning and provision of resources and infrastructure to meet their particular needs.

"In that context, it must be clearly understood that our decision relates to Croke Park alone and is relevant for senior internationals only while Lansdowne Road is closed and does not include competitions such as a 'home country' soccer tournament recently reported as being on an agenda.

"At the time when rugby's two main grounds are closed simultaneously and Dalymount Park is for sale, when the future of Shelbourne's ground is uncertain and when we have been excluded from the Government-funded projects in Lansdowne Road and Tallaght, this is the least we should expect."

Commenting on GAA President Nickey Brennan's remarks about the likely re-engagement between the association and the AFL in relation to possible resumption of the International Rules series, Mulvihill sounded a skeptical note.

"You all read into what Nickey said yesterday that the resumption of the IR was likely or imminent, but there's a lot of talking to be done and I wouldn't be any means as certain. The experience in the past has been that the AFL will certainly give promises at this time of the year and will agree to change rules, but it's the attitude and the implementation that's critical."

In his report he stated his opinion that the hybrid game had now evolved into something far closer to Australian Rules than Gaelic football.

"The rules of the international game have been the subject of considerable debate. The reality is that the rules as presently constituted have much more in common with Australian Rules than Gaelic football, and that has always been the case.

"Elements like the tackle, the mark, the interchange system and the non-stop action, were in the past balanced by our players mastery of the round ball, but now as younger AFL players with experience of the round ball are playing the game the balance of rules needs revisiting."