David Gough has spoken out against the policies in place within the GAA to change the Gaelic football rulebook, while slamming proposed changes to the intercounty rule book for 2024.
Gough refereed this year's All-Ireland senior football final between Dublin and Kerry, as he did in 2019, and has developed a reputation as one of the game's finest referees at intercounty level.
The experienced Meath referee took to social media on Friday after proposed changes to be brought before the GAA's central council were confirmed by the Playing Rules Committee.
The GAA's central council will vote on Saturday to determine whether two major changes to the Gaelic football rulebook will be green lit ahead of the 2024 intercounty season.
One such change would see black cards stricken from the record if a game goes to extra-time, with the offending team restored to 15 players. The player who receives the black card would still be required to leave the field for a substitute, but could then themselves be reintroduced as a substitute later in extra-time.
This would see policies around black cards come into line with those surrounding other bookings, with yellow and red cards similarly written off if a game is drawn at full-time.
Another change would make permanent the award of a penalty for preventing a goalscoring opportunity within the 20-metre line/arc and 25 metres in from the sideline.
The proposals were only made public late this week, and David Gough made his frustrations clear in a Twitter post on Friday afternoon.
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David Gough rips into proposed GAA rule changes
30 July 2023; David Clifford of Kerry is shown a yellow card by referee David Gough during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Reacting to the proposals, Gough would slam the lack of consultation with Gaelic football referees, revealing that they had barely more time than the general public to process the potential rule changes.
Gough said that he "severely opposes" the proposals, and called for the GAA to stop their "endless unnecessary tinkering" with Gaelic football's rulebook:
It just never stops...endless unnecessary tinkering with the rules. Elite referees, unsurprisingly, only given 24 hours to view & respond to this one, which I severely oppose.
It just never stops....endless unnecessary tinkering with the rules. Elite referees, unsurprisingly, only given 24 hours to view & respond to this one, which I severely oppose.
Playing Rules committee want to stop black cards carrying over into extra-time https://t.co/XaeITsWJph— David Gough (@goughd4) November 3, 2023
It is not the first time Gough has spoken about refereeing standards within the GAA, having addressed the Premier League's contentious policy of publicly commenting on officials' perfomances earlier this year. Gough said he was undecided on whether such a move would be positive for Gaelic football.
The changes to the black card rule could hypothetically see teams make use of cynical fouls in the closing stages of a game destined for a draw, knowing that they will not have long to last with only 14 players.
The outcome of the proposed rule changes will be known on Saturday afternoon, when the GAA's Central Council will vote on the proposals brought forward by the Playing Rules Committee.
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