Injury woes delay Wexford selection

BECAUSE of injuries to three key players, Keith Rossiter, Darren Stamp and Ciarán Kenny, manager Colm Bonnar has deferred selection of the Wexford team for Sunday’s Allianz NHL Division Two final against Offaly at Semple Stadium, Thurles until tomorrow night.

Although regular full-back Rossiter was in club action at the weekend, he is still struggling to shake off the effects of a groin strain while the other two defenders, Stamp and Kenny, are currently carrying leg injuries.

According to Bonnar all three will undergo fitness tests at training tomorrow night before a decision is taken on their availability.

However, definitely out of the equation are midfielders Eoin Quigley and Colm Farrell, both sidelined with long-term injuries.

As is the norm, Kilkenny manager Brian Cody won’t announce his side to meet Tipperary in the Division One decider, also at Thurles, until Friday night. But, the Cats boss is unlikely to make any major changes.

However, with Derek Lyng again ruled out because of a hip injury, Cody is expected to name Cha Fitzpatrick at midfield.

After recovering from mumps, Fitzpatrick was introduce as a sub in the last group game against Dublin and figured prominently in a club game at the weekend.

Although full-back Noel Hickey, who has not played since last September’s All-Ireland final, is on the mend after being laid low with a groin injury, Cody is expected to hold him in reserve.

Tipperary will name their team tomorrow night but the two Kellys, Eoin and Paul, will be absentees because of injury.

Meanwhile a change of roles for Fr Seamus Gardiner in the GAA hierarchy will see him vacating the role of official referees’ spokesman, which he filled with distinction for the past seven years. It involved him liaising with individual referees and the national media, responding to controversies where he was in a position to do so and specifically coming to their defence on occasions when nameless individuals went on the attack on radio phone-in shows.

Fr Gardiner, the long-time PRO of the Munster Council until a change of rule forced him out, was named last week by new GAA president Christy Cooney as chairman of the three-man National Referees Appointments Committee. The other members are Central Competitions Control Committee chairman Seamus Woods and the new chairman of the National Referees Committee, Mick Curley.

Curley, a retired Garda Superintendent and respected referee, is likely to take on Fr Gardiner’s old role as spokesman, although he pointed out yesterday this won’t be confirmed until the (referees) committee holds its first meeting next week. “Fr Gardiner deserves a lot of praise for the work he did for referees and refereeing,’’ he said. “He was the ‘go-between’ when there was any uncertainty or where any sort of clarification was required.’’

The irony of his new position wasn’t lost on Fr Gardiner, commenting: “When people were critical of refereeing performances I used to say, ‘I don’t appoint them, I only defend them.’

“I always tried to give the referee’s point of view, but that could often be difficult because of the number of cases which would have been sub judice. If there was a question of an appeal being lodged you couldn’t say anything that might be seen as prejudicial.’’

At a more general level, he agreed that in recent times referees have been subjected to much more scrutiny. “Going back to the old days Micheál O’Hehir rarely commented (on radio) on controversial incidents. Nowadays everybody sees things ‘live’ on TV and they can also watch The Sunday Game. That way, they can see when a referee makes a mistake.

“Nobody has ever denied that referees make mistakes. But what people tend to do is zero in on one or two decisions — whereas the referee could have made something like 70 or 80 over the course of a game.’’

One of the more notable incidents Fr Gardiner recalled involved Cork referee Michael Collins, when he sent off Tyrone forward Stephen O’Neill in the wrong in their losing 2005 Ulster final replay against Armagh in Croke Park. Collins issued him with a yellow card and believing that he had already carded him, showed him the red card.

“I contacted Michael and he admitted that a mistake had been made and that way the controversy was cleared up that night,” he recalled.

* O’Neill’s red card was rescinded and the story had a happy ending — for him and the team — when Tyrone defeated Armagh in the All-Ireland semi-final (he scored 1-4) and went on to beat Kerry in the final.