JUST KEEP THIS OUT OF THE GAA PLEASE.. FOR ALL OUR SAKES

THERE is a growing buzz in some corners of Irish sport - the GAA should bring VAR into hurling and Gaelic football.

- GARRY DOYLE

The idea is seductive. Who wouldn't want perfect calls, no disputed scores, no refereeing controversy?

But seductive doesn't always mean sensible. And in this case, it would be catastrophic.

Hurling and Gaelic football are, at their best, games of rhythm, pace and intensity. They sweep you along, pulse racing, nerves taut, fans shouting, players reacting in instinctive moments that make them unique.

Interjecting VAR into that mix threatens to kill the very thing that makes them electrifying.

Former All-Ireland final referee Barry Kelly (inset), who knows a thing or two about officiating under pressure, lays it out plainly. He said: “The flow of a game would be affected. The average international rugby game now lasts two hours. Do we want All-Ireland finals starting at 3.30pm finishing up at 5.40pm? The crowd would lose interest.”

They sure would.

How do we know?

Because we were at the Ireland versus Japan rugby match last Saturday and then the Brentford versus Newcastle Premier League game on Sunday.

The rugby international started at 12.40pm and ended at 2.28pm - an 80-minute game stretched across 108 minutes.