Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney dubs GAA ‘embarrassing’ after decision to change Championship structure again

The GAA have announced that the championship structure will change once again in 2026, as the group stages will be scrapped in place of a back door system that is similar to the format that was in beforehand.

The championship this summer will therefore be the last to see the current group stages in place, and Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney is not impressed by the constant chopping and changing.

Speaking after Armagh’s draw against Mayo in The Athletic Grounds, the Orchard boss was vexed by the news that the old structure is to be brought back.

"It’s a joke, it is a joke," McGeeney exclaimed.

"To vote in a system that they voted out two years ago is a joke, I think it’s an embarrassment.

"They are going to be coming out and saying all sorts of things, but it’s a money savings exercise.

"Less games, less traveling, and they are going to try and push it out to all of us, I just think leave it alone - it was the best format ever."

Critics of the present format claimed that there wasn’t enough jeopardy in matches, as teams like Derry lost three championship games last year, and still weren’t eliminated from the competition.

However, ‘Geezer’ didn’t subscribe to this view, and he claimed that every point was treated with the utmost importance.

"You talk about jeopardy? Ask any manager or player, the Super Sixteens - you were worried about every score, never mind every game," the county manager continued.

"Every point mattered, you could be sitting top but lose your last game and be down in third. It’s nonsense.

"What are they looking for? We are watching other sports grow, but our thing is about control and containment. If they want a knockout championship, then play a knockout championship, you can still lose a game (in the new format).

"What is the thing that they want, do they even know themselves? It doesn’t seem like it to me - this is six times in nine years, it’s embarrassing.

"It’s embarrassing to vote something out after two years, back to something that they had two years ago."

It isn’t just the structures that are changing as the Football Review Committee are still making tweaks to the new rules that have been introduced.

"We got another guideline during the week about the kick out," McGeeney revealed.

"The referee can now give a time penalty after 20 seconds, but there is no shot clock for the keeper to see, so there’s a time penalty when no one can see the clock.

"And by the way, the referee can change at any time that he wants to, like it’s up to him, he might think that he has to go for a ball - it’s just up to him.

He continued: "They set out a guideline, because this allows them to get away from what they said, because you’re supposed to go through congress for rule changes, but now it’s a ‘guideline’, but it is a guideline that there is no specific thing too, because it can change anytime.

"We hear that they are going to change the goalkeeper thing, but they just haven’t found a way that they can do it yet, so there will be a guideline that won’t be a rule change."

"You usually get an email about it, but see at this stage - I know they’re trying to do the right thing, but after seeing that ‘guideline’ about the kick out - like saying to somebody that we’re going to have a time penalty, but there’s no way of telling how long that time is.

"And by the way, that time penalty will change at any time because it’s not a penalty - it’s only a guideline."

News Catch Up - Sunday 23 February