Late last year, the GAA's Central Council, following a recommendation from the Football Review Committee and in a change to an earlier ruling, deemed that the sounding of the hooter in league and championship football will signal an immediate end to games.
During the course of the 2025 season we had a situation where the ball was required to go dead after the hooter was sounded, so leading, in some matches, to lengthy additional time at the end of each half.
As a result we had passages of play, as was the case in the All-Ireland final, where Kerry held on to possession for a few minutes after the hooter sounded long enough to tee David Clifford up for a trademark score.
One of the FRC's final acts was to bring about a revised conclusion criteria, which Central Council agreed with.
However, recognising the potential risk of suddenly cutting off an awarded scoring opportunity, Central Council included specific caveats.
A player can still take a penalty, a free, '45, or a sideline kick if it has been awarded when the hooter sounds, but only on the condition that it is a direct, uncontested shot at goal.
No team-mate is permitted to touch the ball.
Any ball that is already in flight when the hooter sounds will have its resulting score stand, providing no other attacking player touches the ball.
The FRC and Central Council hope that the immediate conclusion will result in greater urgency, encouraging teams to push for scoring opportunities instead of prioritising possession retention.
Kerry edged Roscommon by one point in Sunday's Division 1 league game in Killarney.
Tomás Kennedy punched the winning score after fielding Seán O'Shea's free. It was tight but the ball had left Kennedy's hand just before the hooter played its part.
Speaking on Allianz League Sunday, Éamonn Fitzmaurice, who sat on the FRC, said the decision to award the score was correct but that Roscommon have reason to be unhappy as the O'Shea free could have gone the other way.
"It was the correct call but if this is the case, we're going to have this week in week out"
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) January 25, 2026
Lee Keegan and Éamonn Fitzmaurice react to the controversial ending to Kerry v Roscommon and discuss the hooter issue
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The former Kerry All-Ireland winning player and manager said: "There were borderline fouls, a foul by Dylan Casey. Was Senan Lambe fouled when he was on the ball? Then we looked at the way Lambe kicks up, the way his left leg comes up at Casey.
"The free was given. And then we had Tomás Kennedy's buzzer-beater score.
"The ball barely left his hand when the hooter sounded. Kerry got the benefit of the doubt today.
"Technically, it was the correct call but I wouldn't have been surprised if the free had gone the other way in the first place."
Also on the programme, Lee Keegan spoke about a "messy situation", even though he also deemed it was the "correct call".
Kerry boss Jack O'Connor, speaking to RTÉ Sport after the game, was grateful that the direct approach paid dividends as the seconds counted down in Killarney, saying: "Whether we deserved it or not, I'm not too sure.
"There were only five seconds left when we got that free around the halfway line. It was great awareness by Seanie first of all to pike the ball in, because we certainly wouldn’t have had time to work it in, and by Tomás to have the awareness to get rid of the ball before the hooter went.
"I think the hooter went as it went over the bar, so that was as close as it is going to get."
