Mayo row escalates as final postponed

THE row that led to the withdrawal of Mayo’s ladies footballers from the senior championship has taken a new twist with the indefinite postponement of the TG4 Connacht final, which was scheduled for Sunday.

Galway and Sligo were finalising their preparations this week for the provincial decider but an appeal submitted by Mayo clubs means that they must await a decision from Croke Park before knowing when they will finally get to play, or if indeed, the championship will have to recommence with the involvement of Mayo.

Mayo county board withdrew the team from the Connacht and All-Ireland championships in May, having been unable to appoint a successor as manager to Pat Costello, who had resigned the previous month.

Costello claimed a number of players were undermining him although that charge has been furiously rejected by spokespeople for the panel.

The county’s greatest player ever, Cora Staunton, revealed that the players met after suffering a 19-point mauling to Cork and presented a list of 15 points to Costello, only three of which referred to management.

The board refused to allow the panel to train without a manager, citing insurance issues, and when they failed to appoint a replacement for Costello, took the decision to pull the team out of the championship. The move sparked an angry reaction from the players, with Staunton quoted at the time as saying “I don’t think the board know what it means to us, and how upset and sad we are at missing out’’.

The president of the Ladies Football Association, Pat Quill, travelled west with a delegation last month in an attempt to bring about a resolution but was unable to do so.

For now though, the situation has led to a stalemate, with the championship grinding to a halt.

“It is with regret that the Connacht ladies Gaelic senior football championship final between Sligo and Galway is postponed until further notice” said Connacht secretary, Ita Hannon yesterday.