'They do an incredible job' - GAA President defends fixture makers after McGuinness criticism
GAA PRESIDENT JARLATH Burns has defended recent decisions around fixture-making in the All-Ireland senior championship.
The Central Competitions Control Committee were under fire on Sunday from a vexed Donegal manager Jim McGuinness, who was annoyed that their final fixture in the group series against Mayo was set for Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon.
'We think it was very unfair to bring us here,' stated McGuinness, after their final round group game.
'It was the equivalent of bringing Mayo to Omagh and we also put in an email to the CCCC to say we couldn't get a hotel in the area so we had to stay in Athlone. We had to go beyond the venue to come to play in the venue.
'So it was the equivalent of Mayo going to play us in Omagh and staying in Derry and I don't believe that would happen. I think that would only happen because it's us. Disappointed in that.'
Burns, speaking today in Croke Park at today's All-Ireland SFC launch, made a point of recounting when he and Games Administration Manager Bernard Smith were in the car on their way back from making the preliminary quarter-final draw on Monday morning,
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'He took seven phone calls from counties asking for clarification on this, asking for a favour there, asking that they could play at a particular time, something that would have been on in their county, and I think every one of those requests was met.
'And whenever fixtures are being made, there are so, so many things that they have to take into consideration, particularly with regard to neutral venues.
'I think they do an incredible job. I think they are amazing people and I just thought that it was important to put on record my appreciation and thanks for the work that they do in very complex circumstances.'
Jarlath Burns at today's All-Ireland football championship launch. Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE
Meanwhile, Armagh player Oisín O'Neill has added his voice to the debate around the practice of changing the playing rules in mid-season.
On Saturday, the Football Review Committee proposed a rule alteration around the kickout mark, that any obstruction would not be punished with a 50-metre advancement of the ball.
That met with disapproval from McGeeney after his side lost by a point to Galway on Sunday.
'Listen, honestly, they just seem to be able to do what they want,' said McGeeney.
'Some teams tell them to do something, I'd love that direct line. Whoever has that direct line into Jim (Gavin) and Eamonn (Fitzmaurice), I would love that.'
Speaking to the press at the football launch, O'Neill stated, 'I think Kieran's biggest issue with them is that they constantly change, you know. Half the league and then they changed and now they're talking about another change this week. Like, there's four rounds of championship left.
'He has no issue. It's more just that they keep continuously changing and as players, that's frustrating because your coach is working on one thing one week and then it might change.
'But look, whatever it is, whatever it is it is and we'd be ready for the quarter-final in two weeks to do a massive rethink on what we're doing on some certain aspects.'
He added, 'We probably had to tweak a few things that we've been working on and change certain things that we were trying to work on. Such as the mark, you know, you had to hold your hands up after going up and now you're being told you've five steps or whatever.
'I think if it's refereed in the spirit that the rules intended, you have to allow a little bit of leeway like for players to compete for the ball, but I think it's a reflection of how well coached you are. And we were punished severely by it at the weekend, and it's something that we wouldn't be happy with.'
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It wasn't the way I wanted my six-year tenure to end, but the whole frustration almost encapsulated my attitude towards All-Ireland quarter-finals. I just didn't like them. And I still kind of don't. Maybe it's just my experience with Dublin that has clouded my judgement because I had a lot of good days in quarter-finals as a player and manager with Clare, beating Galway in 1999 (after a replay) and overcoming Wexford twice (as a manager) in 2005 and 2006. The only blip was the quarter-final defeat to Kilkenny in 2004 after a replay but the drawn game was a magical day, when we looked dead and buried before Jamesie O'Connor nailed the equaliser with the last puck. My first quarter-final with the Dubs was in 2009 when we lost to Limerick in a match we should have won. We had a good year and had made great progress, which was very satisfying, but it was still a missed opportunity that gnawed away at me over the winter. In 2011, we had won the league before losing the Leinster final to Kilkenny, but it wasn't that hard to lift the lads ahead of the quarter-final against Limerick. We'd had a good year. The league final gave us great confidence and the Kilkenny defeat didn't drain a lot of that out of us. I felt we'd beat Limerick, which we did. That was the one high-point but I have never warmed to quarter-finals since. Even though Clare won their last three quarter-finals, I found them frustrating experiences even as a supporter. Maybe it's just the hurling fanatic in me but I always get the impression that half the stadium doesn't care when there is a double-header. Whichever crowd loses the curtain-raiser is gone by the final whistle, while the winners' supporters are out the gap by half-time of the second match. And the whole sense of occasion just collapses like a deck of cards. Cork are a different animal again, win or lose. After they lost the 2022 curtain-raiser to Galway, the rebel hordes emptied Semple Stadium. After they beat Dublin in the curtain-raiser last year, the red wave just swept out of Thurles like a tide washing out to sea. Having the games early on a Saturday afternoon twice in the last three years certainly didn't help, but I have long felt that the double-header just doesn't work and that there should be standalone fixtures. Circumstances have dictated as much now, which I think will certainly make a difference around the atmosphere and appeal of the matches. The Dubs may be part of a double-header with the footballers but at least they'll get a decent crowd in early, while Limerick will arrive to the capital in enough numbers to make it feel like an occasion. I'm glad that Galway-Tipp is in Limerick but I'd have preferred if it was on in Ennis – and not just out of comfort for me. I'm not sure what kind of a crowd will be in the Gaelic Grounds but it certainly won't be a sellout, whereas Ennis would have been. I just felt they should have gone with Cusack Park and made it an all-ticket game. The vast majority of people who will go today would have got a ticket but the scramble would have also drummed up more hype and discussion around the occasion, which, to be honest, has been fairly low-key this week. Much of that is down to the GAA not promoting the quarter-finals enough but it's also probably a result of the distrust around Galway and what team may actually turn up. Galway haven't liked Tipp since the 1980s but they're so Jekyll and Hyde that even their own supporters can't trust them to bring enough anger into this match to make it into the kind of spectacle that their public deserves. Galway were a joke in their opening game in Nowlan Park and, while they recovered well in their next four matches, they were back to their old bad habits in the Leinster final. Aside from a seven or eight minute burst late on, Kilkenny rode roughshod over them. Galway need to cut loose again now because I'd be fairly confident that Tipp will. They're back in a quarter-final when a lot of people – including their own – wouldn't have expected Tipp to have reached this stage at the outset of the championship. They have improved as the championship has gone on, but I also think they're in a far better physical – and mental – state than they were when Tipp were last on this stage in 2023. That year, their form was slowly draining away as the championship progressed and they effectively bottomed out against Galway that afternoon in Limerick. I'm not sure if all the older brigade had bought into the Liam Cahill project in that first year whereas this is definitely Cahill's team now. Tipp almost seemed stuck in neutral on that mid-June evening in 2023 whereas this is a team on the move now. This has all the makings of a cracker but I really think it's down to Galway to make sure that it is. Is there enough badness in them to win a game like this? Everybody is already talking about Cork and Tipp in the semi-final. That's dangerous talk for Tipp but it's music to Galway's ears. Tipp have to block out all that outside noise. They're capable of beating any team on any given day, but can they step up and take down a Galway team now that, on paper, they are better than? I just think that you can trust Tipp more so I fancy them by about three points. When the option of going to Croke Park to take on Dublin was put to Limerick, I'm sure it wasn't even a discussion for John Kiely. As well as Limerick loving the venue, only losing there under Kiely in championship for the second time last year, it's also an ideal opportunity for Limerick to flush that bad memory out of their system before stretching their legs at Headquarters ahead of an expected match-up there with Kilkenny in two weeks. Limerick are too professional to be looking that far down the tracks without focusing on the job in hand, but I can't see Dublin being able to contain a wounded animal hell-bent on retribution since the Munster final defeat. Losing that game on penalties again underlined just how hard Limerick are to beat and, aside from the deficit in physicality and hurling ability, I don't think Dublin can be in the right frame of mind to take down Limerick either. If they had beaten one of Galway or Kilkenny in Leinster, it would have at least given them the confidence to think that they can live with Limerick. But I can't see it. Limerick won't be concerned about putting on a show. They will only be focused on getting the job done, which Limerick will. Kilkenny will come in their own good time.
