Armagh claim innocence over Portugal break
JIM McCORRY has claimed that Armagh have been ‘hung, drawn and quartered’ as a result of going on a warm weather training camp to Portugal last month,
The Orchard County are likely to face the prospect of forfeiting home advantage in one of their Allianz League Division 2 games next season as a result of last month’s four-day trip to Vilamoura.
The GAA rulebook precludes full-time training camps unless they take place within 10 days of a county’s first provincial championship game, which Armagh breached when heading to Portugal last month ahead of their May 20 clash with Fermanagh.
But team coach McCorry has hit back at reports that his county will face sanction from Croke Park as a result.
‘I think people are jumping the gun about regulations and what the rules are,’ he said.
‘The way it was reported, people were judge, jury and executioner about us going away when we were trying to do something that the players wanted, that the county wanted.
‘We’re being hung, drawn and quartered for something without anybody even fully speaking properly to us about it, so let’s just see what happens through the proper process,’ claimed McCorry.
As a result of the training camp, a round of club league games in April — which was designated as a club only month by the GAA — were postponed but McCorry insists the decision to call off those games, which had been rescheduled to take place last Monday, was taken by the clubs.
‘As regards compliance with the April rule, we complied with that in terms of all our players were released to the clubs for club games.
‘The final game on Sunday, the day we came home, was changed to Monday night so the games could have been played then, but my understanding was that the clubs preferred to have these games deferred, so they could play these games at a later date with the county players with them,’ added McCorry, who is adamant that Armagh did not need Croke Park’s approval to go on the training camp ahead of their May 20 clash with Fermanagh.
‘I don’t think you need a green light from them as long as you’re complying with regulations,’ he added.