Inter-county bosses are stirring it up by calling for a return to action - Horan

Kelly demands restoration of GAA’s elite status

FORMER GAA president Sean Kelly wants the decision to exclude inter-county teams from a Level 5 playing exemption to be reversed ‘as soon as possible’.

At a remotely-held Congress that introduced a doublewhammy sanction of sin-bin and penalty awarded for cynical fouls that deny goalscoring chances in hurling and rubberstamped a new fixture split season, the decision not to restore the GAA’s exemption from Level 5 restrictions did not sit well with Kelly.

‘Just because our players are amateurs some people see them as second class,’ Kelly told delegates.

‘It is not a question as to whether they are elite or not, it is a question as to why they are not regarded as others which we were until that decision was made.

‘Were the GAA informed of this, who made the recommendation and on what scientific basis was it made on?

‘We have players who are as good and fit as others and that was recognised up until that decision was made.

‘I think we should be looking to getting that decision reversed as soon as possible because we handled the Championship very well last year, it was for the wellbeing of the entire country.

‘Putting us at a different level it to rugby, soccer and others is more or less saying they can go ahead and there will be no problem with Covid but at the

same time we are going to cause a problem. It is blaming the GAA by implication and that is not fair,’ declared Kelly.

However, outgoing GAA president John Horan, who admitted this week that he had expressed reservations to the Department of Sport about the inter-county game returning prior to Easter, hit back claiming Croke Park’s Covid Advisory Committee were in agreement with the decision.

And he also accused intercounty managers of ‘stirring up’ opposition to this week’s decision.

‘I will be honest with you, our Covid Advisory Group are quite happy that we are not back playing inter-county at the moment because the virus is too high in the country and our players are inter-mingling far too much in society because unlike those other sports who can withdraw slightly from society, our 5,000 players across the three codes – ladies football, camogie and ourselves –would all be working on a daily basis.

‘We have no reason to have any concern. We are still well regarded and I will be quite honest with you I think we outshone every sporting organisation in the country over the past 12 months.

‘I think it is a bit of red herring and it is being stirred up somewhat by inter-county managers,’ said Horan.

In an emotionally charged final speech, Horan hailed the GAA’s performance during the health crisis and claimed the split was a pathway to a better future.

‘It might take time for the split season to bed in, but it will be time well spent.

‘Similarly, one of the lessons of Covid will be how we were forced to face up to the runaway train that had become the cost of preparing inter-county teams – and instead of collectively burning through €30m a year we called a halt and the circus of county managers having nearly as many back room members as playing members was addressed.’