Munster camogie final postponed to avoid skorts stand-off
The Munster Camogie Council last night dramatically deferred the provincial final which had been scheduled to take place this afternoon amid the ongoing skorts controversy.
A statement from Council chair Christine Ryan said: 'As the Committee in charge of the Munster Championship, we have reviewed the situation regarding tomorrow's Munster Final.
'As the current Camogie rules of play are still in place and the players have indicated they would not be prepared to play the game in skorts, the decision has been made to defer the game in the best interests of all players and officials involved. Aisling Maher. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
'The details of the rescheduled fixture will be released in due course.'
The eleventh-hour call to defer the final means the Munster Council avoids a stand-off with the Cork and Waterford teams who planned to line out in shorts, insisting that they would rather see the referee call the match off than wear skorts.
The Camogie Association has called a Special Congress for May 22 in order to 'consider motion(s) to provide all players with the choice to wear skorts or shorts'.
Yesterday, the GPA, whose co-chair is Dublin camogie captain Aisling Maher, had sought support from Minister for Sport Patrick O'Donovan to ensure the Munster Final and other weekend fixtures went ahead. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
'We have asked the Minister to use his influence to call for an immediate, interim relaxation of the rule, allowing for choice until Camogie Special Congress has the opportunity to change the rule,' said a GPA statement.
However, Minister O'Donovan insisted that it was the Camogie Association's responsibility to resolve the issue.
'It's an internal matter for the Camogie Association. I welcome the fact that they called a congress but, at the end of the day, the Camogie Association are an independent entity with their own governance.'
However, he did offer his support for players to have a choice on their playing attire.
'The most important thing is that women that are playing our national game are able to play it in a form of clothing that's most comfortable for them and whether that's a skort or a short, that that be up to themselves as individuals.'
Last weekend, Dublin and Kilkenny lined out for their Leinster senior championship semi-final in shorts, but were told by the referee they would have to change before he would proceed with the match. Both teams did so but the stand taken prompted a massive storm of controversy, generating headlines nationally and around the world.
There have been a number of instances this week of club sides lining out for matches in shorts, in contravention of the current rules.
The Dublin camogie board instructed referees to allow games to proceed, with chair Karl O'Brien telling RTÉ they wanted 'common sense' to prevail.
However, in Meath, a league tie between Killyon and Blackhall Gaels was abandoned after the visiting team refused the referee's request to wear skorts.
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