Only in Gaelic football is smart, cynical fouling a KPI

The GAA needs to acknowledge that, along with its much-heralded community and amateur status, there is a pervasive cynicism that is ‘unique to our games’, writes Kieran Shannon

On the same morning of the sometimes — and far too often — farcical Galway-Mayo clash in Salthill, Marc Ó Sé, prompted by the flashpoints in another Mayo game the previous weekend, wrote a column in a national newspaper posing the question: ‘Yes, Kerry are cynical, but what county isn’t?’

The former Kerry great outlined how nearly all the best teams had players and an attitude of never hesitating “to do what was required”.