Seventeen counties in training camp probe
Ban on training camps is in tatters only eight months after counties backed its introduction
MORE than half the counties in the country are under investigation for allegedly breaking the regulations on training camps and challenge game s.
It comes just eight months after the rules were enthusiastically endorsed at a special Congress and is seen as a serious challenge to the GAA authorities.
The Irish Independent understands that ten counties have admitted that their squads embarked on extended squad getaways – although some are claiming that no rule was broken – while further clarification is being sought from another seven.
Armagh footballers and Wexford hurlers travelled to Portugal, Dublin footballers went to France, while many other counties had get-togethers at various locations in Ireland.
Under rule, no training camps – at home or abroad – are allowed except in the ten days before a Championship game. Challenge games are also banned except on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Both rules were introduced to provide more time for club programmes, especially in April and early May.
The training camp rule has been in place for a few years but was largely ignored because it carried no sanction. Special Congress closed that loophole last September, adding a penalty whereby a county would forfeit one home game in the following year’s Allianz League.
It was expected that county boards would ensure that the new regulations were upheld, but that has clearly not been the case this year.
As reports of violations emerged, Croke Park wrote to counties asking if they were involved. The responses are now being considered by the GAA Management Committee, headed by president John Horan and director-general Tom Ryan prior to deciding what action to take,
Wexford hurlers and Dublin footballers insisted earlier this month that their overseas trips did not involve training. Wexford joint captain, Lee Chin, said that a trip to Portugal was organised by the players “to have a bit of fun in each other’s company”.
Ciarán Kilkenny and Michael Darragh Macauley explained that Dublin’s trip to France had a historical dimension as they had visited various war memorials.
LET’S get this right so that there is no ambiguity regarding the latest example of the blatant disregard for GAA rules. In order to provide more time for club activity between the end of the Allianz Leagues and the start of the championships, GAA Congress decided a few years ago to impose a ban on extended training camps – either at home or abroad – for inter-county squads unless they were held within ten days of the first provincial game.
Bizarrely, no sanction for breaking the rule was specified, so counties ignored it.
The loophole was closed at a special Congress last September when the penalty of losing home advantage for one League game in the following year was attached.
It wasn’t exactly a draconian sanction but at least it would have some impact on counties that chose to break a rule whose introduction they had enthusiastically supported.
A ban on challenge games, except on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays was also imposed so that they did not interfere with club programmes in April-early May.
Eight months later, we learn that 17 counties – and there may be more – are under investigation for breaking either the training camp or challenge game rule.
It’s understood that ten have admitted their squads went away for various periods while the others are ‘helping with enquiries’.
The matter is being dealt with by the GAA Management Committee, which is comprised of the most senior officials in the Association, including President John Horan and the Director-General, Tom Ryan, both of whom are in the first few months in their new positions.
ADVANTAGE
It might seem like a straightforward case of charge/hearing/ punishment.
Sorry county boards, you broke the rule (or you allowed it to be broken) so your teams forfeit home advantage for one League game next year.
Not so fast. Strange tales – as relayed by players at various product endorsement functions – of county squads going away for reasons not involving training emerged.
There were no comments from Armagh footballers – who travelled to Portugal – but Wexford joint captain, Lee Chin and Dublin duo, Ciarán Kilkenny and Michael Darragh Macauley offered clever, if implausible, explanations for their overseas jaunts, which suggested that no rule was broken.
Apparently, Wexford hurlers went to Portugal for much-needed rest and relaxation while Dublin’s trip to France was a historical pursuit. Training? Perish the thought!
Chin kept the straightest of faces when explaining that the Wexford lads “decided to go off together and have a bit of fun in each other’s company”.
Nothing to see here was his clear message to Croke Park. “As a group of friends, I think we are entitled to do what we want to do,” he said.
Dublin’s trip to France resulted from a loftier call. They visited World War 1 memorial sites, even laying wreaths to mark their respects.
“No, there wasn’t any training at all really. More so, it was going around and visiting these places,” said Kilkenny.
Macauley was more specific in his description of the background to Dublin’s excursion.
“We were over paying respects to the Irish who fought in World War 1. It was something I would never have had the opportunity to do, to have a first-hand account of the World War 1 experience and to have your eyes opened to how many Irish were involved over there,” he explained.
“Some lads might use it for motivation but I think it was more of an educational trip to bring us more together.”
If the Dublin and Wexford county boards stand over the stories of friends heading off for a break with the Championship only a few weeks away, or getting an urge to commemorate war heroes at precisely the same time that GAA rules prevent extended training camps, how can anything otherwise be proven?
And what of the two counties who came together on a day when challenge games were banned, donned club jerseys and played what looked altogether like a regular match?
One could be forgiven for thinking they had tried to manoeuvre a way around the
rule. The claim is that it wasn’t a challenge game at all, but rather a joint training session, which would not have violated the rule. Fancy that!
Breaking the training camp ban might appear rather trivial, and in many respects it is. Far more serious is the failure by counties to uphold rules that they supported at Congress.
FASHIONABLE
It’s sporting anarchy at its most dangerous if county boards back a decision at Congress, only to ignore it some months later.
It’s fashionable to label those who are charged with implementing rules as the ‘suits in Croke Park’ but what are they supposed to do if the guardians of law and order at local level behave in a two-faced manner?
It’s important to remember that the training camp and challenge game bans were brought in to help clubs, whose concerns over the lack of a proper games’ schedule continue to be a major issue.
How, then, can county boards approve rule-breaking which impacts on clubs? The obvious conclusion is that they are unable or unwilling to say ‘no’ to team managers.
In the interests of law and order, it’s crucial that the GAA Management Committee take a stand. Their authority has been challenged and unless they respond forcibly, more rule violations will arise. It’s time to issue the notices about forfeited home League games next year.