THE YELLOW card change up for debate at GAA Special Congress on October 4th is heading for a heavy defeat after Leinster counties shot down the idea at a meeting on Tuesday evening.

Congress will discuss a proposal which would see yellow-carded players being replaced by substitutes for the remainder of the game but the suggestion received a lukewarm reaction from county board chairmen and secretaries at a specially convened provincial council gathering.

All 12 Leinster counties were brought together for a briefing on the proposals for Congress, after the "Galway to Leinster" hurling situation was discussed a fortnight ago.

One delegate present revealed: "There's a fear that all referees don't referee the same way so what constitutes a yellow card with one might not be a yellow with the other."

Another proposal to curtail the preparation time for minor and under-21 teams to six weeks was also shot down by Leinster counties.

The delegate added: "That's not seen as sufficient time to prepare any team. Kildare's Glen Ryan remarked recently that he would not be involved with any team given just five or six weeks to prepare and the feeling among the smaller counties is that it would seriously affect preparations to meet a stronger county."

Meanwhile, Wicklow County Board secretary Michael Murphy has insisted Leinster counties only should decide whether or not the Galway experiment is working if the Connacht county are allowed into the Leinster championship.

Wicklow have yet to officially decide what way to vote on the matter and Murphy said: "The one thing that we were promised on the night when this was up for discussion was that after three years, Leinster would have a right to say at that stage whether or not the experiment is working.

"But if you look at the document that came out, there's nothing in it to that effect."