On Gaelic Games: Leinster Secretary Michael Delaney, as he frequently does, identified the crux of the issue., writes Seán Moran

In his annual report he regretted the alteration of the original sin bin experiment and went on to remark - presciently given that his remarks were scripted before the weekend: "However, what's done is done, and we now have - to me at least - a much more draconian measure in place. I just hope this gets a fair trial and that our legislators will not be over-influenced by the bleating of losing managers."

It's not just losing managers who have been queuing up to knock the current rules being tried in intercounty hurling. As the storms have blown there appears to be very few willing to persevere with the trial, let alone to defend the experiment for the timely intervention it clearly is.

Even some of those on the hurling task force, which signed off on the original proposals, have distanced themselves from the whole experiment, pointing out that the sin bin idea was hastily scrapped without any reference to them because of perceived problems in football.

There are two distinct issues at stake here. One is the knee-jerk reaction to the original experiment's teething troubles in football. Second is the sweeping consensus that disciplinary problems are exclusively football's concern.

As a preliminary point it's worth noting that this is further evidence of the growing divisions between football and hurling, corroborating the difficulties caused by the issue of dual players in a number of counties. It doesn't take Nostradamus to foresee that this potential schism will be a major headache for the GAA in time to come.

On the first issue mentioned above there's not a lot to be added to what has already been said. When the decision to abandon the sin bin was reached, however, not even critics of the panicky reaction could have realised that the chickens would be flapping home within a couple of weeks.

Aside from the bypassing of the hurling task force - and this is slightly overstated because Central Council, not the football task force, ultimately decided to ditch the sin bin - this was a turnabout that did nothing for the GAA's growing reputation as an organisation paralysed by the growing prevalence of foul play.

That rush to placate unreasonable protests has merely cut a stick that is now being used to beat the association in an even more unreasonable fashion.

What precisely is the problem with this attempt to trial new methods of cracking down on foul play and affording skilful players adequate protection? Let's dispense with the most commonly stated criticisms. Complaints about inconsistent refereeing are irrelevant to the new rules: that phenomenon has been a constant frustration but one of its progenitors is the willingness of players to break rules because they consider the advantage gained to be worth the sanction.

As a result, match officials are always being put on the spot and inevitably lose their nerve on a regular basis. That a particular type of player commits a foul shouldn't have any bearing on the punishment imposed. For instance, there are no arguments about JJ Delaney's standing in the game. Hurler of the Year in 2003 and fairly close to it in 2004, he was yellow carded on Sunday for bringing down an opponent. It's not uncommon for a clean player to commit fouls, but when that happens he has to be subject to the same discipline as a dirty player.

Will Delaney think twice before doing the same thing next Sunday? If so, the experimental rules will have had the desired effect. If not, the situation is disastrous because it means that even the finest of players is fouling as a reflex action. How would that sit with claims that discipline in the game is fundamentally sound? Hurling is more skilful than football and has traditionally been played in a more sporting spirit. This is just as well given the huge damage that a recklessly or maliciously wielded hurl could - and occasionally does - cause.

But by no stretch of the imagination could it be said to be free from the growing problems of cynicism, gamesmanship and weak disciplinary procedures that have beset football. If it were, there would be no problem because players wouldn't be picking up yellow cards and the consequent sanctions.

Last summer was a poor one for the GAA on the disciplinary front. Poor refereeing and a non-interventionist GAC played key roles. And hurling was up there with football. The hurling season saw incidents where clear red-card offences were overlooked, unpunished referee-intimidation and soft options taken at committee level.

It hasn't always been the case, but last year there wasn't much to choose between the games in the matter of discipline. That was the reality that the hurling as well as the football task forces had to address.

It's everyone's right to disagree with the experimental measures proposed, but to claim that everything is fine is baffling.

One of the most profound expressions of this denial came from Tipperary's Eoin Kelly, who was a member of the hurling task force, in statements to the Sunday Tribune and on RTÉ.

He cited two sendings-off from last summer as offences that merited the sin bin rather than red cards.

One was Tommy Walsh's dismissal against Clare - a truism given that he would have been sin-binned for the first yellow card, but had he gone on to commit the second offence, would have been given the line anyway.

The other was John Mullane in the Munster final. This is bizarre. Mullane himself accepted the punishment that followed from striking Brian Murphy. If such an offence were to be re-graded from three months to 10 minutes, Eoin Kelly would need to watch out.

Another skilled forward, albeit of a previous generation to Kelly, DJ Carey was quoted in last weekend's Sunday Times as saying that holding, pulling and dragging, which he rarely encountered at the start of his career, was now commonplace. This is the evolving game that the GAA has to manage.

For discipline to be adequate, it must punish foul play to the point where it acts as a deterrent.

That just hasn't been happening. The experimental measures may not be perfect, but they are trying to address a worrying reality and deserve more of a considered response than the current whirlwind of denial and irrationality.

smoran@irish-times.ie