GAA Director General Tom Ryan hails imact of FRC Rule changes
A general view of action during the 2025 GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Kerry and Donegal at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
Writing in his 2025 Annual Report which was published today and can be viewed and downloaded at the bottom of this article, GAA Director General, Tom Ryan, hailed the positive impact that the FRC rule changes have had on Gaelic football.
Ryan admitted to “some trepidation” about how the rules might work in practice when they were introduced for last year’s Allianz Football League, but believes they haven’t just improved Gaelic football as a sport, but led to a “seismic” improvement in respect for match officials.
“The rules heralded a shift towards more open and skill-based football,” writes Ryan in his 2025 Annual Report.
“Key to this was the two-point arc, keeping a minimum number of players in each half, the solo-and-go and the new kick-out regime.
“Perhaps the greatest reform was cultural and behavioural in nature. The introduction of the dissent rules and general improvement in respect for officials and opponents is seismic.
“We now have two codes that showcase the very best of Gaelic games, or indeed any sport, and attendances at matches throughout the year bear testimony to that.
“Change is not without its challenges, and indeed its setbacks. For my own part I must admit some degree of trepidation on the eve of the first round of Allianz League games back in January. The sheer scale and extent of change posed undoubted challenges.
“But referees, players and managers all rose to that challenge. There was a real sense of a generational opportunity – and duty - to restore the best of our game. When issues arose, or when refinements were required during the season everybody just redoubled their efforts and got on with the job in hand.
“Everyone should be proud of what has been achieved on that front, in particular the Football Review Committee, not just for the reforms they introduced, but for pioneering a new way to deliver change and emboldening the Association for future endeavours of a similar scale.”
Ard Stiúrthóir of the GAA Tom Ryan in attendance for the GAA Annual Report launch at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.
Ryan believes there may be merit in further rules changes for Gaelic football, specifically the trialling of some sort of restriction on handpassing which has become such a dominant feature of the game at the expense of kick-passing.
“Like all things in the GAA, the work never finished. In producing their final report, the FRC rightly highlighted areas that require further examination – not least the handpass.
“There is evidence that handpassing is becoming a dominant feature around the large arc as teams seek to slow the attack and wait for gaps to emerge in order to fashion a 2-point scoring opportunity.
“Any future restriction on the handpass might well prove problematic for referees – indeed they voiced that concern during consultation – but by staying vigilant and by working together I think we can overcome this challenge should the need arise. It might be worth considering some handpass restrictions at underage level in order to change the mindset.
“Objective data analysis by the Games Intelligence Unit (GIU), and the support of the performance analyst community was central to the success of the rules project. We plan to build on this success by embedding the GIU in our decision making and communications processes.
“Sharing the rich information at our disposal can only advance our games, offering a deeper insight to supporters and underpinning coach and referee education.
“The positive football experience this year may well inform our thinking for hurling in the future."
One of the most obvious impacts of the new FRC rules on Gaelic football in 2025 was a significant improvement on team discipline.
There were just 23 disciplinary cases arising from Central Council games at senior inter-county level which was a reduction from 57 cases in 2024.
Of those 23 cases only 10 were straight red cards with eight in the Allianz Football League and two in the Football Championship, compared with 25 in 2024, when there were 13 in the league and 12 in the Football Championship.
That adds up to a reduction of 60 per cent.
Ryan expressed his hope that GAA Annual Congress will support measures designed to have a similarly positive impact on discipline in hurling.
“When compared with Hurling, where 51 players were suspended across the league and championship in 2025, the impact of the new rules in football is evident.
“We will turn our thoughts to the business of Congress later in these pages. Suffice to say for now that if the measures on the Clár relating to Hurling discipline meet delegates approval I expect to see further positive trends in the year ahead.”
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You can view a flipbook version of the Annual Report of GAA Director General, Tom Ryan, here - https://online.fliphtml5.com/fhqhq/GAA-A_Rept-TYRAN-26/Y
You can view and download a pdf version of the Annual report below:
