Croker won’t be staging NFL game

CROKE PARK will not be seeing any American Football action this year after the NFL confirmed they have ruled out staging a second regular season game in Europe in 2012.

An NFL spokeperson told thescore.ie website that the New England Patriots-St Louis Rams game on October 28 in Wembley Stadium will be the only international game.

NFL officials visited Croke Park before Christmas with the possibility of staging a regular season NFL game in GAA HQ either later this year or in 2013.

Meanwhile, Stuart Wilson, the former Aviva Stadium deputy groundsman, has been appointed the main man for Croke Park. Englishman Wilson has also worked as assistant groundsman with Arsenal FC at the Emirates Stadium.

The GAA have explained they sent back Antrim club St Mary’s Ratharskin’s appeal case to the Ulster Council on a “small technicality”. The Ulster Council quashed a number of suspensions handed down to the club following an U21 game against Lamh Dearg in which referee Ray Matthews was attacked.

The Antrim County Board had imposed bans on the club from all competitions above minor grade but the decision was overruled by the Ulster Council.

Croke Park reverted the case on the grounds that some evidence wasn’t taken into consideration.

However, it’s believed the evidence is not substantial enough to change the decision made by the Ulster Council.

KILDARE (O’Byrne Cup SF v Dublin): S Connolly; P Kelly, C Fitzpatrick, O Lyons; B Flanagan, T O’Neill, E O’Flaherty; D Flynn, R Sweeney; T Moolick, M Conway, P O’Neill; A Smith, T O’Connor, J Kavanagh.

WEXFORD (O’Byrne Shield SF v Wicklow): A Masterson; N Murphy, G Molloy, B Mulligan; L Chin, B Malone, A Doyle; D Waters, R Quinlivan; B Brosnan, PJ Banville, P Kelly; K O’Grady, S Roche, R Barry.