This isn’t about safety, it’s all about capacity

CROWD trouble. Animosity. Policing systems. It is hard to understand how the idea has caught hold that ticketless Mayo supporters will be looting and rioting on the streets around St Conleth’s Park on Saturday evening. Ned Quinn and James Horan have something to do with propagating the theory after revealing interviews on OffTheBall AM yesterday. All three phrases were used in a conversation about the story that has gripped the nation and made the main news bulletin. It’s Newbridge, though, not downtown LA. As red herrings go, the quite literal interpretation of ‘health and safety’ took some beating. The way Quinn was talking, it was if he was re-imagining the streets of Los Angeles back in 1992 and the riots that ensued when four police officers were acquitted of the beating of Rodney King. ‘People are eager to see their own county and it was a possibility that people would turn up seeking to get admission or seeking to buy tickets even though they would have known tickets weren’t available,’ said Central Competitions Control Committee chairman Quinn. ‘The risk would be that people would get involved with other spectators. ‘Well I wouldn’t describe it as crowd trouble but there could be animosity shown to people who had tickets if they couldn’t get them and claiming they would probably be regular supporters of Kildare.’ The crux of the matter ultimately emerged: the GAA anticipated a capacity of more than double the restricted attendance of just over 8,000 and seemingly concluded that the extra finance (say an extra 10,000 tickets at €25 a ticket), was worth compromising the integrity of the competition. It has been a long-standing practice when it comes to fixtures except Kildare decided to make a stand. Former Mayo manager Horan played up the health and safety card. ‘I’m sure it is a concern, from the guards’ point of view to Croke Park’s. So it is something that does need to be reviewed. Because there is potential there. ‘I know there are comparisons

made if Man United travel down to Scunthorpe. That’s been happening, they are familiar with that and the policing systems or whatever it is. ‘It doesn’t really happen in the GAA world where you have a huge over-swell of people into a small town and how that is dealt with. For me, there is some genuine concern there.’ Horan, by the way, is a Sky Sports pundit. Sky have the TV broadcast rights for any Saturday Championship doubleheader. There is also an irony in the decision to switch the game to a larger venue to accommodate supporters, having put the same game behind a subscription paywall. Feargal McGill, the GAA’s director of games administration, started the health and safety smokescreen. ‘We fully appreciate where Kildare are coming from. We don’t take home venue off of a team lightly. However, health and safety has to come first. The last thing we wanted to do was take this out of Newbridge, but we simply had no choice. ‘If Kildare don’t show up in Croke Park on Saturday the game will be awarded to Mayo.’ This is not about health and safety, though. It’s about capacity. And doubling the attendance. And the bottom line. There is a big difference. It’s why Kildare are refusing to back down, telling Croke Park yesterday that they would be in St Conleth’s Park, at 7pm for the throw-in. That’s if they can safely navigate the mean streets of Newbridge, of course.