Gaelic Football players are allowed to run with the ball in their hands, the ball can also be kicked or hand passed. However, a player must only take 4 steps with the ball and after that they must solo or bounce the ball.

“What is a solo?”

A solo involves the dropping of the ball onto your foot or boot and kicking it back into your hand. Another rule in terms of bouncing the ball is that you can’t bounce the ball twice in succession, however you can solo the ball as many times as you wish. Another key rule is that you can’t pick the ball up straight off the ground, a player must put their boot under the ball in order to pick it up.

Furthermore, players are allowed to engage in shoulder to shoulder contact. The ball can also be removed from the other players grasp by an opponent’s hand. There are no set rules in terms of the number of people that can tackle the player with the ball, the tackle must be aimed at the ball however. In terms of foul play; punching, tripping, pulling a jersey and full frontal charge are forbidden. These can warrant a yellow card which is a warning for the player that dangerous or foul play is forbidden.

Scoring

A goal is scored if the ball crosses the line underneath the crossbar, a point is scored when the ball goes over the crossbar. In Gaelic Football a goal is worth three points, while a point is obviously just worth one point. So take an example here, in terms of score format, 2-10, the two refers to the goals scored and the ten refers to points scored. In total it is 16 points when you add it together. A goal is signalled by a green flag by the umpire when it is scored, while when a point is scored a white flag is signalled. When a goal or point is scored, the goalkeeper kicks the ball back out from the 13m line.