Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael, Aogán Ó Fearghail, says there are no plans to dispense with the black card in Gaelic football, but admitted its implementation must be improved in the future.

“In some quarters there has been a backlash,” said Ó Fearghail. “You’ll get that with everything in the GAA from various commentators. The black card is there, it’s part of our rules, yes. I don’t see any possibility of the black card suddenly being dispensed with because of one or two or even more incidents. It’s part of the playing rules of the GAA.

“The black card is there now, there is an onus on us to make sure whatever rules we have, whatever they are, that they are well implemented. I would accept that with the black card some of the commentary is fair because we do probably need to make sure it is properly implemented. But as regards an abolition of it? No.

“There have been some calls where people are not happy with the black card. In general, most of them have been right. Have some of them been wrong? I would imagine, yes.

“That’s where we have a challenge. No doubt about that. We have a challenge in the GAA to improve everything we do, to make sure we get it right. On the black card, it should be absolutely clear to everyone that it’s a black card – and there are times when perhaps that isn’t always the case.

“The black card is there. We have to improve how we use it. And the referees’ committee have said that themselves and acknowledged that. And they are improving their education around referees and the use of it.”

Ó Fearghail believes that in general the black card has had a positive rather than negative impact on Gaelic Football since it's introduction three years ago.

"We have now completed three years of the black card," he said. "In that period, one of the little reviews that I am aware of, our scoring has improved, there have been more goals in that three-year period than the previous three years. There have been more points. And there have been less fouls."