Aherne: It was a lack of respect
FOUR- IN- A- ROW chasing Dublin ladies football captain Sinead Aherne has described last weekend’s fixture controversy as a ‘ hugely disappointing situation for both teams’.
Cork beat Galway at Croke Park to earn the right to play Aherne’s Dublin on Sunday week in the TG4 All- Ireland final, back at Croke Park.
But the game was overshadowed by two venue changes beforehand, the second of which occurred on the morning of the game and impacted heavily on both teams’ pre- match preparations.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Seanad leader Regina Doherty and both the Galway and Cork managements all hit out at the handling of the situation following the game.
Dubs star Aherne said:
“It was a hugely disappointing situation for both teams. Players deserve respect and they deserve more than what happened, particularly in the current environment and for their families who weren’t able to watch it at home.”
LGFA President Marie Hickey claimed on Monday morning that the problem was exacerbated by Galway spending ‘ quite a bit of time in the dressing- room’ before the game.
“They would’ve had the opportunity to get out onto the pitch earlier had they not spent so much time in the dressing- room,” she said. “They could’ve been out on the pitch earlier.”
That drew a furious rebuke from Galway manager Tim Rabbitt, and Aherne agrees the LGFA’S handling of the fallout could have been better.
“It was particularly disappointing that having a completely unacceptable outcome wasn’t acknowledged in the aftermath and questions need to be asked of various factors in the timeline and of parties involved so that lessons can be learned and so that the sport can move on on a better footing,” added Aherne.