The GAA has scrapped the controversial sin bin experiment.
Speaking at a news conference in Hong Kong, GAA president Seán Kelly and referee and football rules task force member Pat McEnaney, confirmed that, as anticipated, the sin bin would not be used in the forthcoming national football and hurling leagues.
Instead of the sin bin, a player who commits two deliberate fouls, punishable by a yellow card, will be sent off for the rest of the game, but can be replaced.
The reasoning behind this idea is that the offending player is punished, rather than the team. Teams will now be permitted to use six substitutes - one extra - to make this rule more feasible.
The sin bin format, which came in for stinging criticism from Laois manager Mick O'Dwyer amongst others during its trial period in certain provincial competitions, involved a player being dismissed for a 10-minute period, with no replacement allowed on the field in his place.
This resulted in a 26-man game at one stage during the O'Byrne Cup semi-final between Laois and Kildare.
However, Kelly today stressed the logistical problem of implementing the sin bin, rather than how it had affected actual play on the field.
Kelly claimed that the manpower needed on the sideline would render the rule impossible to work at club and colleges level, and that he didn't want different rules operating at inter-county level.
O'Dwyer, Donegal manger Brian McEniff, Connacht council chairman Tommy Moran, Sligo player Paul Durkan, Tyrone star Brian Dooher and Dublin veteran and Gaelic Players' Association supremo Dessie Farrell complete the line-up of the football rules task force, which was set up to devise and monitor the rule changes.
It has recommended that the other main rule changes - the use of tees for kick-outs and picking the ball off the ground without the use of the foot - be retained.
