Angry Fans
It’s your shout Two sparkling games restored Munster hurling to the centrepiece of the GAA calendar … But the fans have mixed views about Cork Manager Gerald McCarthy’s postmatch scathing attack on the GAA’s top brass … They are angry too at players who fake serious injury to get their opponents booked… and there’s the increasing problem of drunken behaviour spoiling big games for other people …
Get in touch: Give your views and comments to An Fear Rua himself at GAA Angry Fans in ‘The Irish Examiner’? Just drop an email to gaafans@examiner.ie and get AFR’s reaction to what you have to say.
COMMENT of the Week goes to Richie Rich for pointing out the elephant in the room. Or, rather, the elephant in Croke Park – the increasing amount of drunken loutishness marring fans’ enjoyment of major games. CATCH up with more conversation and craic on ‘An Fear Rua –The GAA Unplugged!
GERALD McCarthy’s comments after the match on Sunday were even worse than Loughnane in ‘98. He used the words ‘absolute disgrace’ about a hundred times (and never in relation to the scenes of violence Clare and Cork engaged in) and rounded off by saying that the three players treatment was ‘inhumane’. He got about ten minutes of air time to whinge like no one has ever whinged before.
I THINK Gerald Mac had a fair point, not so much about the suspensions but about the crazy process the players had to go through to appeal. I agree with the suspensions imposed. It's just the quagmire that they have to go through if they want to appeal is the problem. Gerald was particularly scathing about the fact that the players were on their way to a hearing in Portlaoise when they were rung to be told it was postponed because one of the officials couldn't make it. Yet the same guy failed to turn up at the refixed hearing as well !
ONCE the game against Waterford was out of the way, Gerald McCarthy got a lot off his chest as he was entitled to. If the GAA top brass are going to be all high and mighty about ‘procedures’ they need to get their own act together first. Calling off a disciplinary hearing as participants were in transit is just not ‘on’.
I COUNTED about four times in Thurles today when a Cork player, while getting tapped or worse, hit the deck and started rolling around while clutching his face.
THIS is not just a ‘Cork’ thing. Players from other counties are giving Oscar winning performances as well.There are some things we could usefully copy from soccer.This is not one of them.
I USUALLY stand on The Hill unless I’m with my sisters in which case we'd go the stand. I could never stand the soccer style scumbags on the Hill but the situation is definitely getting worse. I never thought I’d say it but maybe it’s time to put seats on the Hill to purge these scumbags from the GAA. They seem to have no interest in the match so I doubt they would bother going if it was all seated. They can’t hide as part of the gang in an all-seater stadium.
YOU mean on the Dineen Hill 16 as the GAA now officially call it – in their Gaelic version of Rhyming Slang? Unfortunately, a lot of 16 to 25 year olds seem to be getting boozed up before games then drifting in to the Hill in gangs. The number of people allowed to bring cans of drink and who are drunk out of their minds at Dublin matches is crazy. The Hill – sorry, GAA top brass – Dineen Hill 16 needs to be much better policed to stamp this out.The first line of Gardaí and stewards should simply refuse to let drink or drunks past them. End of story
THE suspensions dished out were unfair and were biased in favour of Cork. The GAA never fail to be biased towards certain counties, especially Cork, and yet severe on weaker counties even if they were not the start of the fight. Clare were wronged in ’98 and denied an easy All Ireland when Offaly went on to win a downgraded All Ireland. Cork expect to do what they like on the field and to get away it!
STRAIGHT Red Card to you, Seán, for that OTT rant. Just as I never believed in Biddy Early’s Curse, I took Loughnane’s story back in 1998 about the Confession of the Three Priests in the Hogan Stand with a big pinch of salt. Face it! There’s more to hurling than just One Big Conspiracy Against Clare. The way Messrs McDonagh, Fiztgerald, Considine and the rest of you are behaving in the Banner at the moment, you need little help from outside to muck up Clare hurling.
IT’S about time the GAA threw Frank Murphy's Rule Book into the river Lee. For God's sake, CCC CHC CAC DRA, jobs for the boys. Great stuff! The gravy train rolls on. Not for the players mind you. Look you commit the crime, you do the time.The only thing you peel is an orange?
THE GAA are KILLING hurling.This whole Semple thing is a shambles as there wasn’t a punch thrown in anger – it was handbags! The delay in decision making was unacceptable. I understand pleas had to be made but telling guys only a few days before a game is wrong and unfair.They deprived not only the young kids to see their heroes, but also hurling people across Ireland the chance to see the best hurlers in the country take part in the Munster Semi final.The infamous Dublin/Tyrone fight (The Battle Of Omagh) last year was a lot worse with players’ bans being rescinded and that was a proper brawl with fans and playing staff etc all involved.
Dr. Paddy Ryan
AS a Waterford supporter I am just sorry we had to beat Cork without the so-called Thurles rebels. It could have been worse of course. Just imagine the ‘Examiner’ headlines if we were beaten by the red jerseys without Cusack, O’Sullivan and Seán Óg (who did not deserve a suspension). I think the Croke Park bigwigs got it all wrong. What happened at Semple Stadium did not look pretty on television, but nobody was even injured.
THE comments as quoted by Clare County Board on Jim O' Sullivan's article in the ‘Examiner’ were, in my opinion. pathetic, but typical of Clare GAA mindset.The siege mentality appears to be alive and well in the Banner county.The prospect of Clare hurlers pulling out of the Munster Hurling Championship would be akin to a little boy puncturing his ball so that others might not play. Fair play toTony Considine for standing up to this ridiculous type of behaviour Grow up Mr. McDonagh and take your punishment.
HOW difficult would it be to have a 'Citing Commissioner', like in rugby union, who reports on the previous weekend's game by Monday lunchtime and announces what players have a case to answer?A disciplinary meeting should be arranged for the Tuesday/Wednesday night and the player would then know their fate within a maximum of 72 hours leaving their manager to go ahead and plan for the next game. The system is a joke as it stands.
Bandage
A ‘jumbo’ Shout in response to the many comments received from Angry Fans – on both sides of this great divide. It’s over. Forget about it. Let’s move on. Nobody comes out well from this debacle. Let’s hope the GAA learn their lesson – we need a simple, fast, two-tier system for dealing with discipline, not the current CAPITAL LETTERS quagmire. Instead, let’s remember Semple and the Summer of ’07 for the kind of magnificent spectacles we witnessed there on Saturday and Sunday Oh, and by the way. Yellow Card to Dr. Paddy Ryan as the latest in a long line of people casting aspersions on our hand bag toting population
A BIT harsh the ‘65 in the final seconds of the Limerick v Tipp match. Would you have given it if in the same situation? Wouldn’t it be great if the Munster Council put the minor semi between Limerick and Tipp on before the senior game?
GOOD to see an umpire somewhere taking responsibility for a tough call. I think he called it correctly and opened the way to a replay saga to equal the Dubs v Meath in ’91.
THE HIGHLIGHTS of ‘Meat versus Dublin’.That was what Pat Spillane promised on ‘The Sunday Game’. I thought he was introducing another one of those celebrity chef programmes. When will this guy learn to pronounce ‘Meath’ properly?
WHATEVER about recipes for ‘Meat’ some fans think Spillane makes a bit of a dog’s dinner of presenting the show.
