The rule for wearing a gum-shield on the Gaelic football field is a simple one.
If a player is not wearing a gum-shield, he should be ‘cautioned.’ If that player persists, he should be ordered off.
On Wednesday night, Skerries Harps defeated last year’s beaten county finalists Thomas Davis by three points in the Dublin SFC up in Skerries. The Tallaght club felt aggrieved about coming out on the wrong side of the 3-7 to 1-10 scoreline, with a well-finished goal from their corner forward Sean Fennelly ruled out because he had not been wearing his mouth-guard.
As you can see from the footage below from OnPoint Performance Analysis, the ref allows the play to go on, as Fennelly beats two men and finishes to the top corner of the net. It is only after the goal has been scored and the play has been finished that the ref orders Fennelly to the sideline to get his gumshield, before bringing the play back for a free out.
I witnessed a first tonight in the @DubGAAOfficial SFC clash between @tomasdaibhis & @SkerriesHarps. A goal disallowed after been scored all because the scorer runs by the referee AFTER scoring (no whistle) and the referee says he wasn't wearing a gum-shield. pic.twitter.com/uUW8JFkoEe
— OnPoint Performance Analysis (@AnalysisOnpoint) August 6, 2020
In the rulebook, it doesn’t state whether or not play should be stopped or indeed called back if a player isn’t wearing their gumshield.
Earlier on in the game, Skerries Harps’ star forward Stephen Smith was pulled up while in possession of the ball for the same offence. The only real precedence for such gum-shield controversy came in the 2018 League when Kildare centre back Eoin Doyle was shown a second yellow by referee David Gough for not wearing his gum-shield.
