Brian Ó Beaglaoich has expressed concerns over the GAA's hooter system.

There was controversy in Killarney last Sunday when Kerry teenager Tomás Kennedy fisted over a contentious buzzer-beating winner against Roscommon just as the hooter sounded. Under new rules, the hooter signals the end of the game rather than when the ball goes out of play.

“I think it’s probably going to cause a bit of trouble later in the year,” the An Ghaeltacht and Kerry star predicted at the launch of the Lidl Comórtas Peile Páidí Ó Sé 2026.

“I think when games are going to be so tight, it’s going to be tiny margins, what’s going to happen in an All-Ireland final if someone is hand-passing over the bar right on the hooter or kicking right on the hooter?

“It’s very hard for refs there to decide whether they’ve gotten it off before or after the hooter. I think it probably will cause a bit of trouble later in the year when games are so tight.”

Still basking in An Ghaeltacht's recent All-Ireland club IFC triumph,  Ó Beaglaoich would also like to see the new rule which sees the ball being brought forward 50 metres if a player doesn’t hand it back after committing a foul being tweaked.

"It is a good rule, but players are trying to manoeuvre a two-pointer," he claimed.

"I think it would be better if you put the ball back on the ground. That would cut out the messing and teams trying to manoeuvre a two-pointer.

"It's tough for referees to manage it as they have to see if the ball is handed while also keeping an eye on what's happening up the pitch."

Tweet

Most Read Stories