Managers are to blame for nasty, ugly contests

IT WAS ugly and it was nasty, but what we witnessed in Tralee last Sunday was a stark manifestation of the win-at-allcosts mentality that is now prevalent among all the top teams. Last weekend was the first round of League matches that really mattered — the competition had reached its halfway point. Kerry were one of the teams that were looking over their shoulder at a possible relegation battle while Donegal wanted to secure a semi-final berth.

It was clear that neither side were going to give an inch to the other. They were determined to get the result they needed, by fair means or foul.

That is the sort of mentality that needs to be tackled.

While it was all kicking off at Austin Stack Park, I was in Clones, where referee Joe McQuillan put an early stamp on proceedings by giving Aidan O’Shea an early black card, which I felt was harsh at the time. But McQuillan had set the tone.

If players stepped out of line, they were going to be punished.

In fairness to Eddie Kinsella, he did attempt to do something similar in Tralee. Alan Fitzgerald was sent-off after only six minutes but both teams simply ignored Kinsella’s early marker. On Fitzgerald’s red card, I think that if the GAA felt the need to give Neil McGee a one-match ban for grabbing his fingers, then the Kerry fullforward should be exonerated.

He was simply trying to defend himself and free his fingers.

But let’s be clear about this, the lack of discipline and ugliness in Tralee didn’t simply just happen. The teams went out there, wanting to set down a physical marker. That created the tinderbox. There is a responsibility on management in these sort of situations. They need to calm down their players.

When we were sitting on the top perch with Galway, we were occasionally involved in games of this type. Teams just below us wanted to bring us down a peg or two. I remember one particular League semi-final up in Healy Park, Omagh that was very fiery. Padraig Joyce was sent off that day and things were getting tasty on the sideline. But it didn’t completely ignite because there was restraint shown on both sides.

I would have always reminded players that, no matter how heated things got, they should not do anything that would affect the result, or affect their ability to win the competition. That is what both managers should have told their players of last weekend.

If these sort of ugly encounters continue, the GAA will need to act more decisively. I agree with the €7,500 fine handed out to the teams. But if a team is guilty of being involved in more ill-tempered games, there should punishments like League games being played at neutral venues. Or even take away all their home games for an entire League season. If the GAA show themselves to be serious about dealing with this indiscipline, it can go some way to eradicating the problem.

Looking at today’s Division 1 games, there’ s every chance there could be another explosion. Given their simmering rivalry since the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final replay, the most obvious candidate is in McHale Park, where Kerry and Mayo meet.

There is plenty of recent history there, and there are also bragging rights on offer, while Mayo need to build on their win over Monaghan. It’s not hard to see that game over-heating. But there may be a bit of niggle in Cork where Monaghan are the visitors. The Rebels restored a bit of pride last weekend in Croke Park but the question now facing them is who are the real Cork — the one we saw against Roscommon or the team that stood up to the All-Ireland champions. It won’t take much for players to kick-off there. And Roscommon travel up to Letterkenny, which will tell us an awful lot about both teams. It will be a real test of Donegal’s temperament. Can they focus on their football after last week’s shenanigans? While if the Rossies are able to go up and win in Donegal, we have to acknowledge that this team really have arrived.

I expect Donegal will get the show back on their road this week, but it will take a very good performance to wipe away all the illfeeling from last week’s battle in Tralee.

But by this evening, I wonder if it will be the football that will provide the talking points — or will it be the approach that certain teams take.