New time keeping guidelines for referees could see the duration of GAA matches increase from tomorrow's National Football League openers.
Referees have been instructed to stop their watches for a number of matters such as substitutes, relevant delays caused by travelling distances to take frees and stoppages that require the intervention of Hawk-Eye in Croke Park.
The Irish Independent reports that the new guidelines will cover incidental and deliberate delays which have crept into the game in recent years.
Croke Park's national match officials manager Pat Doherty explained that stoppages will range from 20 seconds for substitutes and players travelling distances for frees to 30 seconds for use of Hawk-Eye.
"We'll be instructing the referees that they must stop their watches for those things to happen from now on. Even in games where there are no stoppages, there's been two minutes at the end of a half," said Doherty.
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