Croke Park defend decision to defer replay
Gerard O’Kane, the Derry chairman, said that the delay has been geared to take away any advantage that Derry might hold over a Dublin team still reeling from the knockout blow by Laois.
“In my opinion, everything has been geared to the advantage of Dublin,” said O’Kane. “It is going to give them extra time to recover from Sunday’s game, but that’s the way these things go. Certain counties get preferential treatment, while others are not even consulted on matters.”
Derry GAA officials only heard of the GAA decision after the GAC had devised the venues and times of fixtures, but Croke Park said the change of time was simply a matter of logistics. Neither Parnell Park nor Celtic Park have adequate capacities and only Clones could deal with the crowd volume expected for this game.
“We couldn’t use Clones next Sunday because the Ulster semi-final between Down and Fermanagh is fixed there for Sunday. And Monaghan are the designated county in the Monaghan-Meath tie, so they get the home venue next Saturday,” said a GAA spokesperson. “Obviously, Croke Park is unavailable next weekend, and there wasn’t any other venue able to accommodate the crowd we expect for Dublin-Derry, so, to play it at Clones, we had to hold it over for a week.”
While Monaghan, Tipperary, Meath and Clare, all of whom played last weekend, all take to the field this weekend (Sean Boylan’s team will be playing for the fourth week in a row), Tommy Lyon’s side will now have an extra week’s recuperation.
“Derry County Board were given absolutely no input into the choice of venue,” said county secretary Patsy Mulholland. “At the very least, competing counties should be consulted, if not have a say in where the game is to be played. But Croke Park told us it had to be a neutral venue and Clones was the only suitable venue.”
Both Casement Park and Breffni Park were suggested as viable alternatives, but expecting a similar Dubs exodus to two years ago in Thurles, Clones was the safer option. That hasn’t lessened O’Kane’s anger and frustration, though: “We suggested to Croke Park that we toss for the choice of venue, but that didn’t happen. I just want our fans to know that Derry County Board had no say in when and where this game is being played.”
Meanwhile, any probe of the tunnel incident in Croke Park on Sunday may not necessarily be carried out by the GAC. It emerged yesterday that it could be undertaken by the Leinster Council, although a spokesman for the council admitted yesterday that there was a doubt as to exactly whose responsibility it would be: “We don’t have any part to play in disciplinary matters, but as this incident happened off the field, it could be a matter for Leinster Council to examine.’’
The alleged incident occurred as the teams made their way into the tunnel under the Hogan Stand after the half-time whistle.
