Irish Sunday Mirror

GAA have their cake and 8 it..

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‘the withdrawin­g of the motion was greeted with applause in the room – I think it sums up the disrespect they have for all players #bigmistake’.

And in a further show of fury towards the Congress decision, Brennan insisted: “This is far from over (and) only confirms the disconnect from top to bottom”.

It was a bad day for county players too as the football Championsh­ip was overhauled.

Elite counties like Dublin, Tyrone and Kerry are set to enjoy some cracking high summer encounters.

But many believe the ‘Super 8’ format, which replaces the All-ireland quarter-finals with two new groups of four, does nothing to address the plight of mid-ranking and weaker counties.

There is a natural fear too that the addition of extra Championsh­ip games will reduce the amount of time for club activity.

Wicklow manager and former Dublin defender Johnny Magee claimed in a Tweet that it’s ‘total disrespect & regard 4 club & county players’ and said it’s time for an all out strike.

Donegal footballer Mark Mchugh said: “I fear massively for our game today – both club and intercount­y.”

New Gaelic Players Associatio­n chief Dermot Earley said the result summed up the ‘disconnect’ between decision makers and players.

He noted that 74 per cent of Congress delegates voted in favour of the Championsh­ip change – yet just 30 per cent of players supported it.

Earley said: “It’s disappoint­ing for me because the motion that affects our inter-county players most was ignored.”

But GAA director general Paraic Duffy said: “It’s a great vote. I think it’s a good democratic decision.

“We’re trying something new and if it doesn’t work out I’ll be the first to say let’s move on to something else.”

Separate proposals to bring the All-ireland finals forward to August, and to limit replays, were passed and should free up more time for club action.

 ??  ?? SATISFIED GAA director general Paraic Duffy
SATISFIED GAA director general Paraic Duffy

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