Donegal pulled off the biggest result of the GAA championship season so far yesterday, defeating defending champions Derry in their Ulster Championship meeting at Celtic Park.
Derry entered this game as the form team in the country, with their last outing being their Division One final victory over Dublin. As well as that, they were on the hunt for a third consecutive provincial title.
However, Donegal would run out as deserved winners on a scoreline of 4-11 to 0-7. It was a brilliant performance from Jim McGuinness' side, who cleverly exploited the questionable use of Derry goalkeeper Odhran Lynch over the course of the match.
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Donegal goalkeeper falls foul of new GAA rule in Derry win
While the Derry goalkeeper was the main talking point in the aftermath of this game, there was also an interesting moment involving his Donegal counterpart.
In the first half of the match, Shaun Patton would go down near his goal with an apparent injury.
After receiving treatment from a physio, referee David Gough then instructed the player to leave the field and reenter it on the halfway line. This led to some confusion among the Donegal ranks, who were unsure what to do with the kick-out that followed.
This eventually resulted in the referee awarding a hop ball due to time wasting. You can watch the incident below.
Why did Donegal keeper Shaun Patton have to return to the pitch from the halfway line?
A new rule in place this season means a player not seriously injured who requires treatment must be treated off the pitch and can only return at the halfway line during a break in play. pic.twitter.com/nESbkGGJTt— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 20, 2024
Patton would eventually be taken off as a result of the injury in the second half. This incident did cause some confusion at the time, although it all stems from the recent introduction of a new GAA rule.
The new rule states that players who are not seriously injured, but require treatment on the pitch, can only return to the game from the halfway line during a break in play and when they are instructed to do so by the referee.
A player who is seriously injury would be allowed to remain on the pitch after receiving treatment.
This law was introduced by the GAA in order to combat the issue of players feigning injury in order to waste time, something that had become increasingly common in recent years. However, as we saw yesterday, it can also lead to a rather odd situation when the player affected is a goalkeeper.
SEE ALSO: BBC Pundits Baffled By Derry's 'Naivety' With Sweeper Keeper Tactics Against Donegal
