Two-time All-Ireland-winning hurler Niall O’Meara is wary of easing the rules around head contact in the sport but feels that simulation has become an increasingly prevalent issue in recent years.
O’Meara, who won All-Ireland titles with Tipperary in 2016 and 2019, watched his former team lose out to Cork in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh – a game he didn’t particularly enjoy – where a melee on the stroke of half-time resulted in Jason Forde and Shane Barrett being shown straight red cards.
Afterwards, Cork manager Ben O’Connor reiterated his much publicised comments asserting that the GAA hierarchy were seeking to “cleanse” the sport. The Cork manager insisted that referees were too quick to dispense…