The most debated rule change at the start of this year, the impact of the black card was always going to be one of the most scrutinised issues from the 2014 Football Championship.

But what impact has it had on the playing of the game?

The GAA have relased statsistics regarding the use of the black card system, and among the highlights are:

• The 2014 Football Championships have set a record for the number of scores recorded in a single season.
• With the introduction of the black card, the average number of points per game in the 2014 championship is roughly 9.5 per cent higher than in 2013. The number of points scored has increased by just shy of five points per game since 2010.
• There were over five less frees on average per game awarded in the 2014 championship in comparison with previous years.
• Fewer than one black card per game was issued during the Championship at a rate of 0.8 per game, while yellow cards issued was also down from an average of 6.89 last year to 3.39 in 2014.