By Kieran Lynch

Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan has called for a greater level of  transparency in the GAA congress’s voting system.

The Edendork man  made his feelings known after Congress decided to introduce the anti- back-pass rule which was in turn criticised in some quarters.

Morgan said: “If you’re going to vote for a motion to be put through,  your name should be put to it. If you’re so for a rule, then why not
put your name to it?”

As he will be particularly affected by the new rule as it will hinder  is ability to get involved in open play, it is no surprise that he
felt strongly about the matter. Morgan’s stance echoes the viewpoint held by Gaelic Life’s own  columnist Cahal Carvill.

Recently, Carvill called for more transparency in the voting process  in his column claiming, “The voting system at Congress is so
secretive, it would make the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il proud.”

“If you think about it, how did your county delegate vote on the black  card issue, was he for or against it? “How did they vote on the advanced mark, was it in line with the  consensus within the county? “What about the pass back to the keeper, was that something that was
fully considered at committee level and a vote cast accordingly?

“For the majority of you reading this, the answer will be the same as  mine, who the hell knows?” Carvill also highlighted in his article, when the Club Players  Association put forward a motion to address the issue of transparency  in the GAA congress in 2018, it was defeated by 83% to 17%.

The issue of transparency won’t be revisited at Congress until 2022. See the ‘what they said: the goalkeepers’ feature on page 16-17 where
three Ulster netminders debate the change in rules.