Jim McGuinness brands 3v3 rule as 'farcical' following Galway dismissals

Donegal boss Jim McGuinness has slammed the three-on-three rule following the dishing out of black or red cards, branding it as “farcical” after Galway managed to retain an extra forward despite being reduced to 13 men in Salthill.

Despite losing Matthew Tierney to a first-half red card and picking up two black cards in the second half, Galway still emerged comfortable seven-point victors at Pearse Stadium in round 4 of the National Football League.

During the periods they were down to 13, Galway was still able to structure its play with 11 outfield players, meaning that the players could press forward in attack while still maintaining cover at the back.

They chose to keep a lone forward up when defending and, at times, left two back when they went on the offensive. Donegal, however, was forced to leave three players behind.

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“Galway had a man sent off, two black cards, and yet they had one man up while we had to leave three back,” McGuinness said after the game. “That, to me, is farcical. I genuinely don’t know what to say about it. It’s an unintended consequence, but taken to the extreme.

“But look, it made absolutely no difference to the game that Galway had a red card and two black cards. It didn’t change a thing because they were still able to attack exactly as they had been doing before it happened.”

“That’s definitely something that has to be examined.”

The Football Review Committee continues to assess the new rules, with potential tweaks possible at any stage. Would McGuinness like to see any modifications?

“You have to be very careful answering questions like that because people love to take things out of context,” he said.

“But what happened today was farcical. If the opposition has a man sent off and two black cards, and you’re required to keep three players back to mark a single man, then clearly something’s not right. That has to be addressed.

“That said, I’ve been clear about this before—whatever the rulebook says, we’ll coach to it.”