Cut 13-day rule to give clubs fair play, says Tipp club

Loughmore-Castleiney’s motion aimed at shortening the 13-day rule will end the second-class treatment of club players, according to the club’s chairman Dick Egan.

The Tipperary club have proposed reducing from 13 to eight the number of days inter-county players aren’t available to their club before a championship game, and lowering from 20 to 13-days their unavailability before the All-Ireland final.

Egan said amending the 13-day rule would end the practice of inter-county managers dictating club schedules and the culling of club games during the height of summer.

Loughmore-Castleiney successfully defended their county senior football title on St Stephen’s Day, a full month and a half after Tipperary’s representatives were pencilled in for Munster club action — the motivating factor in tabling this motion.

“I know there was the drawn All-Ireland hurling final and the replay three weeks later, but you shouldn’t have the case where we won the Tipperary championship almost two months after the Tipperary champions were to play in Munster,” he said.

“This motion is to avoid such a scenario in the future. Managers shouldn’t be able to put a blanket ban on club games.

“It is frustrating for clubs not to know when they are playing. Nobody knows when the year is going to end and, as it turned out in Tipperary last year, all the clubs had to be called in because top brass knew they weren’t going to get the hurling and football finished. If they had pressed ahead with both, you would have had dual clubs like ourselves playing midweek as well as weekends. That is cruel on players.”

Egan continued: “The logic behind our motion is that you play club championship on the Saturday afternoon and then from the Sunday to the following Sunday the inter-county player is tied to the county team. This would be largely applicable during the summer, freeing up several weekends.”

Egan believes culpability lies at the doorstep of county chairmen for allowing inter-county managers have final say on the playing of club games.

“Fault lies with the managers, and even the county chairmen for allowing long periods during the summer where not a single championship game is played.”

He added: “We know support will have to come from grassroots if this motion is to pass. We know it won’t come from those at the top. It was a joke they [top brass] disallowed Clare’s Sky motion. They shouldn’t be there solely to shoot us all down.”