GAELIC GAMES:AS DISCIPLINARY issues finally calm down, and this despite a full-blooded weekend of football, another perennial GAA problem, fixture congestion, makes a timely return, the Kildare selector Paul Grimley citing a bias at HQ toward Cork's travelling supporters at the expense of player welfare.
The Kildare county board sought a postponement of their All-Ireland football quarter-final against the Munster champions.
The hope was to avoid a fourth successive week of championship activity for Kieran McGeeney's team.
The request was refused by email to the county board chairman, Syl Merrins, yesterday morning. And so Kildare's reward for beating Cavan, Limerick and Fermanagh since July 19th is a date for this Sunday on the undercard of the All-Ireland hurling semi-final between Cork and Kilkenny. This is an obvious attempt by the Central Competitions Control Committee to increase attendance at Croke Park.
Grimley, who has been a trainer/selector with Armagh under Joe Kernan and in Cavan, is one of the most respected football coaches in the game and has been - at least until now - a vocal supporter of the work done by the GAA president, Nickey Brennan, and director general, Pauric Duffy.
"I understand they both have difficult jobs and that they do them well but what is disappointing to me is this fixture has been structured around appeasing the Cork supporter," said Grimley. "I also understand in the current economic climate the reasoning behind not forcing the Cork supporter to travel to Dublin two weekends in a row (for hurling and football matches) but what about the Kildare supporter who is being forced to pay semi-final prices of €45 for a football quarter-final ticket?
"What about, in this era of player welfare, the Kildare footballers? I find it very disappointing that supporters are being facilitated ahead of players. It shows no respect for the Kildare players or supporters.
"I think Cork are a great GAA county but imagine the uproar if the roles were reversed. This would simply not occur."
Grimley was asked if amateur intercounty footballers are capable of performing at championship level on four straight weekends.
"We're about to find out," replied the Armagh native. "It's the lack of regard and respect for Kildare that I find most disappointing."
GAA sources insisted on Monday that no request was made by Kildare to the CCCC before Sunday night's fixture meeting, unlike those made by Dublin, Galway and Armagh. But Kildare secretary Kathleen O'Neill insisted yesterday she "left a voice mail on the mobile phone of the CCC secretary before last Sunday's meeting".
Dublin, Galway and Armagh made their requests in advance and in writing. Dublin unsuccessfully sought to have their match against Tyrone fixed for next Saturday. Armagh and Galway were keen to play their quarter-finals at headquarters.
Kildare's veteran goalkeeper Enda Murphy, however, sought to downplay the effects of four games in 21 days: "I personally think that a week is enough to recover between games. We have no particular injuries and are looking forward to playing after winning three games in a row."
It would be of little benefit for a player to say, "We are going to struggle," but as a Kildare county board source noted yesterday: "We are the only team who have to play four games in four weeks. The players will be a bit burned out."
