Erne impasse worsens as 11 quit panel

ELEVEN Fermanagh footballers have slammed their county board for the handling of the impasse between the senior squad and manager John O’Neill.

The players, who have left the panel, accused officials of attempting to “drive a wedge between the current squad and the players involved in the dispute,” and also hit out at the board’s rejection of recommendations made under the GPA/GAA Disputes Resolution Protocols.

Though the board claimed only four players were involved in the row, 11 names appeared at the end of a statement e-mailed to The Irish Examiner yesterday afternoon.

Niall Bogue, James Connolly, Ciarán Flaherty, Mark Little, Liam Lynch, Shane Lyons, Tommy McElroy, John Mullarkey, Seamus Quigle, James Sherry and Peter Sherry broke their silence in a hard hitting document which is highly critical of how the board conducts its affairs.

Their actions follow Fermanagh Board’s assertion that they ‘did not consider that the GAA and GPA’s suggestions represented an appropriate way forward for Fermanagh’ and offered their backing for O’Neill.

In the statement, the players said; “It is our continued contention that the current management team falls far short of the high standards of organisation and preparation which are required to compete at inter-county standard.

“Rather than this season being a launch pad for a rebuilding process, we believe there has been a decline in standards. As a result the undersigned 11 panel members, (not ‘only four’ as stated by the county board) have withdrawn to date due to concerns regarding team management.

“We have also received the support of a significant number of players from last year’s squad who share our views on the current situation. We would like to make it clear that we bear no animosity whatsoever to the players who remain on the panel and have at no point attempted to coerce or influence any panellist into making a decision.

“However we believe the County Board have attempted to drive a wedge between the current squad and the players involved in the Dispute. We believe the alarmingly high level of player turnover within the county is a symptom of deep problems which the board are currently unwilling to address. As the County Board has chosen to reject the recommendations made under the GPA/GAA Disputes Protocol, we now call on the clubs in Fermanagh to ensure that a comprehensive review is carried out transparently at the end of the season and to ensure that their views are heard clearly on this matter.

A Fermanagh GAA official said he had not seen the statement and could not comment on the matter.