Lack of dialogue fuelling players’ anger
GPA chief Séamus Hickey called for an immediate review of the condensed intercounty season yesterday, claiming that it was not fit for purpose.
A raft of postponed games has seen the Allianz Hurling League final postponed by a fortnight, while the GAA have taken a gamble that this weekend’s round of football matches will provide definitive results, which will remove the necessity of a number of outstanding games being played the following weekend.
The chaos caused by adverse weather conditions was exacerbated last weekend when players from two counties, understood to be Leitrim and Louth, informed the GPA on Sunday night that they would not be fulfilling their fixtures against Waterford and Meath respectively.
And Hickey, who is serving as both the interim CEO and chairman of the players’ body, insisted yesterday that when the GAA was reduced to rescheduling games inside 24 hours, it served as proof that the current schedule was not practical.
‘The GAA passed condensed fixture arrangements last year,’ said Hickey. ‘They said they’d review it at the end of the year, and after this episode and the effect of the weather, it has to be reviewed.
‘In such a condensed schedule where is the room to make things work?’ he asked.
The fall-out to last weekend’s chaos has embarrassed the GAA, with doubts persisting over the accuracy of reports that pitch inspections had informed their decision to postpone a number of games.
It is understood that Louth trained last Sunday afternoon in the knowledge that they would not fulfil their rescheduled fixture with Meath the following day.
Meanwhile, the Ardmore pitch, which had been declared unplayable for the Waterford/Leitirm Division 4 tie last Monday, hosted a club game at noon the same day.
Sportsmail understands that both Leitrim and Louth players made their intentions known that they would not play those games, while Hickey, without revealing the identity of the counties involved, confirmed that two county panels had refused to play on the Bank Holiday Monday.
‘Two teams on Sunday evening contacted us saying they were unable to fulfil fixtures because of the number of players on their panels that had work commitments the following day.
‘We had more contact from a number of other teams dissatisfied with it.
‘A lot of other teams had to rearrange things, personal and family arrangements or have a more flexible work arrangement.
‘A lot of players employed in the North, just didn’t have the flexibility.
‘From our perspective, we released a statement to support them.
‘Those squads had the support of their management teams in deciding they were not able to fulfil fixtures, and we supported them 100 per cent. That was the goal and aim of the statement.
‘There was an element of frustration across the playing body,’ said Hickey, who stopped short of declaring the postponements as a triumph for player power.
‘The CCCC is a body we have no influence over, or input into. The games were postponed because of the weather. The decision was taken out of their [players’] hands by the CCCC on Monday morning,’ he added.
Player anger was fuelled by the lack of consultation, claimed Hickey, who was one of those players affected by the rescheduling of games last weekend, but he played for Limerick hurlers in their Allianz League quarter-final clash with Clare on Monday.
The Treaty star believes that the lesson which has to be taken from the stand-off is that the GAA must be more aware of the pressing demands facing players in their day-to-day lives.
‘I arrived for a pre-match meal and warm-up on Sunday to be told the game was off and we would be playing the same game 24 hours later.
‘I was only one of many players with family commitments. It’s not as easy as you think to just move it to a Bank Holiday Monday.
‘It is important to consider the nature of the players playing the games.
‘They are amateurs with contract obligations to their employers, not to the games.
‘They have to be considered first before anything like this is announced or communicated.
‘The nature of it is there was no communication with players.
‘Communication has to be there. We had that with the GAA over the weekend and we both agreed we need to communicate better.
‘We also need to remember what players have going on outside of the game. In such a condensed schedule where is the room to make things work?
‘It’s so different now, so diverse. It is not a given that players are off on a bank holiday.
‘Not everybody is working in schools and banks. It’s a very different GAA world we are living in now,’ added Hickey.
‘Everybody isn’t working in banks and schools’