IS FINISHING THE SEASON REALISTIC?
More Covid-19 obstructions look inevitable
“A couple of cases will lead to delays”
IN KEEPING with the rhythm of these perverse times, hope and fear struggle to socially distance. And never more so in the GAA, where every couple of tentative steps forward inevitably invite the prospect of another one backwards.
The detailed and sensible regulations drawn up by Croke Park in their return to play protocol template had barely pinged in the county secretaries’ inboxes last week, when the challenge the GAA faces in keeping the ball thrown-in on its Project Restart crystalised.
Three clubs in West Cork, Argideen Rangers, Ballinascarthy and Oliver Plunketts had all suspended activity due to a Covid-19 scare in the region but yesterday notice was given that all were open for business once more.
It is understood that all of the Argideen Rangers players had tested negative for the virus, but the reality is that one, or even three, sets of negative tests will not this delayed summer make.
As the curtain went up in west Cork, it was closed on Dublin club Man O’ War who suspended all activity on ‘precautionary grounds’ as a result of a positive Covid-19 test bringing home the reality that as well-planned as the GAA’s return to play protocols are, they are designed to stall but not silence this invisible enemy.
Outside of the obvious community health concerns, what recent developments have underlined for clubs and county boards is that, while there is no doubt the club season will get up and running – competitive fixtures begin this Friday – there is genuine concern that many counties will not be in a position to complete them.
‘It is quite frightening and being honest, I think we will see club championships not completed,’ former Westmeath star Dessie Dolan told yesterday’s Sunday
Sport programme. ‘They will start off with good intentions, but then there will be a couple of cases and they will get delayed.
‘It is nearly inevitable there will be casualties along the way in terms of the club championships in different counties, especially when you hear about what happened in Cork and in Dublin, it is a warning to everybody,’ said Dolan.
Some clarity should be provided this week when the decision as to whether players in the event of a team-mate testing positive will be deemed to be a casual or close contact will be revealed. The expectation is that they will be deemed casual contacts, which would mean that only the individual who has tested positive will have to self-isolate for 14 days, rather than the group which would be the protocol in the event of a close contact categorisation.
That in itself should provide some insurance against wholesale disruption of county championships, but it is unlikely to be that straightforward.
In the event of a club reporting an infection, it is likely to invite concern and fear among opponents, which may be only resolved with entire teams being tested.
And there is the unspoken but very real fear, particularly as clubs progress to the latter rounds of a championship, that an infection may not be reported because of the consequences it may have. Even though competition has not restarted, speculation that a club had declined to report its members had been in contact with an individual who had tested positive was being reported on social media over the weekend.
It is likely that those stories will gain more traction in social media over the coming months and even if they prove baseless it will not stop the spread of fear.
And while Croke Park has been clear in its communications on its protocols it will still not mean they will be implemented to the letter of the law.
One of the biggest concerns on the ground for clubs is that they fear enforcing the crowd capacity – initially only 200 people are allowed inside a ground next weekend, increasing to 500 thereafter (those numbers include players, officials and media) will be not enough to meet demand for high-profile club games.
Like priests, club volunteers are not in the habit of turning away their flock at the gate.
And the GAA protocols will not be worth the paper they are written on if those they are directed at do not exercise personal responsibility.
The former Meath player Bernard Flynn claimed yesterday that he was left fearful after witnessing two challenge games in the past week.
‘Everything we are asked to do in terms of regulation and protocols to protect ourselves against the virus, the players are being asked to do the complete opposite,’ Flynn told RTÉ Radio. ‘I watched a game between a team from Westmeath and Longford, they were following each other, pulling each other, there was droplets, spitting, they were on top of each other, non-stop physical (action), adrenaline flowing and that is against everything we are being asked to do.
‘They are then getting into their cars without having a shower, soaking in sweat, sitting beside each other going back to their destinations.
‘You can do all the hand-washing you want but when you go on the field, the risk is huge and you multiply that when it is every club, every training session, every match and that is one of my big worries that they are being asked to do something that is against all the Covid-19 protocols,’ declared Flynn.
While there has been strong scientific evidence that spread of the virus outdoors – it is estimated that you are 19 times more likely to be infected indoors – mitigates against the spread of the virus on the pitch in either training or playing, the dangers in the absence of social distancing pre and post games do not need stating.
And outside of the GAA’s control, the fear of local spikes leading to regional lockdowns are playing for real, particular in tourist hotspots on the west coast which have reported a surge in visitors over the past fortnight.
The price for this new-found sense of freedom is a lack of control; one that is now being felt in a lot of club committee rooms around the country.
“When you go on the field, it is a huge risk”