Cunningham slams scheduling of Déise semi-finals

WATERFORD county board chairman Tom Cunningham has expressed “disbelief” at the GAA’s decision to fix the county’s senior and minor hurling championship semi-finals on separate Sundays at Croke Park.

The Déise’s seniors face Kilkenny in the senior semi-final on August 7, with the minors asked to play against Dublin a week later, as a curtain-raiser to the other senior semi-final between Tipperary and Dublin.

The suspicion in Waterford hurling circles is that GAA chiefs want to get Dublin fans “in early” ahead of the senior semi-final and have therefore scheduled the capital’s minors to play their semi-final at 1.30pm on August 14. But Waterford insist this move is unfair as their supporters will have to endure two round trips on both Sundays if they wish to see both teams.