Gavin warns GAA are in danger of ‘sanitising’ game

DUBLIN manager Jim Gavin labelled the decision to uphold the suspension which ruled Michael Fitzsimons out of yesterday’s Allianz League win over Kerry as ‘bizarre.’ Gavin also warned that the GAA was in danger of undermining Gaelic football as a spectacle by ‘sanitising’ the game of physical contact. The Dublin boss was left stunned after the GAA’s Central Hearings Committee rejected Fitzsimons’ appeal against the red card shown in the final minute for a foul on Mayo’s Aidan O’Shea, despite producing what he claimed was ‘conclusive’ evidence to the committee. ‘We had to demonstrate conclusive evidence that his foul wasn’t a Category III offence of dangerous play — and we’d footage from eir Sports to show conclusively that it wasn’t dangerous play. ‘We’ve just got a report back, official correspondence to the county board, and the officers showed me that it wasn’t accepted. It was bizarre. ‘Michael commits the block and there’s a minimum contact and no reaction from the Mayo players. Aidan gets up and plays on and it’s deemed that there was a Category III offence, which I believe is bizarre. ‘Maybe there’s an objective to sanitise the game of Gaelic football and I look at the hurling fraternity and they’ve kept the physicality in their game and it’s a great sport because of it so we just need to be mindful of that,’ added Galvin, who confirmed that Dublin are considering taking the case to the CAC. Meanwhile, Gavin, whose team have all but qualified for a League final showdown with Galway believes that the shoulder injury that forced Cian O’Sullivan to be benched in the final quarter of yesterday’s win over Kerry is not serious. ‘He has range of movement, which is very positive so that is the good news. Just in the shoulder. ‘We just need to get those medical protocols kicked in and hopefully get him back to work tomorrow,’ added Gavin. Meanwhile, a defiant Kerry boss Éamonn Fitzmaurice insisted despite yesterday’s 12-point trimming that his team would not be giving up hope. ‘It is ominous at the moment but it is still early days and we won’t lose faith just yet,’ said the Kerry manager.