Croker pitch ban remains

THE ban on supporters going on to the pitch in Croke Park after major games is to remain, GAA President Sean McCague said yesterday.

It will mean an end to the type of spontaneous take-over of the pitch which ecstatic Armagh fans undertook after last year's All Ireland final victory over Kerry. The association has no alternative but to re-impose the ban on safety grounds and to meet the terms of their insurance, Mr McCague said.

"It's really a very serious matter. And while we can empathise with Armagh and how overcome they were after winning, we will have to be prepared in future. The very reasons why we had to ensure that the pitch was not encroached upon are still valid,'' he commented. "We will have to do so in the best interests of the players, in the best interests of safety and in the best interests of insurance claims and everything else. We have got to ensure that the pitch is kept clear after the match so that the players can have the time and space to recognise their supporters properly.

"For those counties who are accustomed to success, their supporters are appreciative of the fact that they win. But they are not so overcome by emotion that they want to be jumping on the backs of players around the pitch. Most of the players would have told me that they certainly enjoyed the presentations on the pitch where they had the time and the space to take in the spectacle. I think that is a far better way.

"We want to have the presentations back on the Hogan Stand and on the podium as heretofore and to afford the players the opportunity to do a lap of honour if they so wish. In the interest of safety and all concerned, I feel that is the way we should continue.''

Mr McCague acknowledged the stewards had been caught off-guard after last year's football final. They could not have anticipated the wave of emotion after Armagh's first title victory. In his view, it would have been totally different if Kerry had won by a point. "I think there is an acceptance - and there has been for a few years - we don't have to have the pitch incursion. We can't have the spectacle where the gardai find it impossible to police a situation in the interest of safety.

One tragedy on the pitch where a person would sustain serious injury would be one tragedy too much.

"It's not about the pitch. It was in the interests of the spectators themselves and the interests of the players themselves that we imposed the ban.

"The crush in front of the Hogan Stand after the football final was so bad at times that the gardai alerted us that they could not accept responsibility any further in trying to create a human barrier. It was physically impossible for them. Their lives were being put in danger as were those who were being crushed.

"People, particularly young girls, can find themselves in a situation where they can be caught up in the euphoria and seriously injured - and those involved wouldn't even know it was happening.

"This is very much an issue in relation to the welfare of people and the welfare of the players in particular.''

Meanwhile, county boards have been put on alert that the Players Voluntary Insurance Scheme is in grave danger of collapsing without a major increase in membership.

Central Council delegates have been told that only 20,000 players (including 5,000 juveniles) were members last year. It needs at least a 50% increase in take-up, if the scheme is to be made commercially viable for the underwriters.

Insurance Workgroup chairman Paddy Muldoon said the scheme has yet to be renewed, one of the main reasons being a 600,000 loss by the underwriters last year.

Cork supplied 3,500 members of the total, while some counties were as low as 140 leading president Sean McCague to say he would expect clubs to be insuring that number.

Mr Muldoon starkly spelt out the consequences of a continuing lack of interest. "If we lose this one, it will not be replaced. No other organisation in this country has any scheme whatsoever. I honestly believe this is our last chance to keep it.''

He explained later that some county boards pay the membership fees (25 last year and up to 30 if the scheme is renewed).

"In other words they are insuring their county teams. It's a paying proposition. If they hadn't them insured they would be writing cheques for them when they get injured.''