Munster GAA CEO: Fact penalties are borrowed from soccer no reason to dispense with them
Munster GAA CEO Kieran Leddy is a fan of penalty shootouts despite heavy criticism of the mechanism used to decide the outcome of knockout games that finish level after extra-time.
Munster GAA CEO Kieran Leddy says penalty shootouts are working - and the fact they are borrowed from soccer is no reason to dispense with them.
Leddy, writing in his annual report, also says that the provision of specifically set aside ‘replay weekends’ won’t work as they create fixture uncertainty for club players.
This is despite the potential financial gain, with the leading official pointing out that a Munster Hurling Final replay would be worth in the region of €1 in additional income to the Munster Council.
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Last year the provincial hurling championship brought in €6.795 million in gross gate receipts, which was 85percent of Munster’s total gate receipts.
Leddy also points out that the introduction of replays would see the provincial hurling champions having to wait five weeks to play in an All-Ireland semi-final, a gap which he says would diminish their chances of success.
The gap, currently at four weeks, is already “on the long side” according to Leddy, who believes that the system should see the Munster champions rewarded and not penalised.
Speaking about penalty shootouts as a means to decide the winner on the day, Leddy said:
“While this is not a topic that will appear of major concern, there has been commentary throughout the years about removing them in cases where teams are level after extra time and replacing them with an alternative system, such as a golden score competition.
“In such a tight calendar, one thing is clear and that is we must have a way of separating teams that are level after extra time.
“We know that replay dates are too disruptive to fixture calendars. The great advantage of the penalty taking competition is that it is fair to both teams.
“Both have five shots, and more if required, and all these shots take place into the same goals.
“Weather conditions or referee opinion play no part in there. However, by introducing a golden score or some other form of extended play, factors such as the direction of the wind, the opinion of the referee on what was a free or not, comes into play.
“The fact that the penalty taking competition is borrowed from soccer is no reason to dispense with it.
“The method of separation must be as fair as possible to both teams, and the use of the penalty taking competition is fair.”
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