CLUBS HAVE NO GROUNDS FOR FUTURE COMPLAINTS

GAA CLUBS have been assured that any decision to open up county grounds to rival codes will have no impact on their facilities.

Motion 19 of the 43 that will be tabled at Congress in Wexford on February 22/23 proposes to give Central Council the authority to open up any county ground in the country.

The recommendation is backed by Central Council and is a direct response from the GAA to last year’s Liam Miller benefit game saga.

GAA director general Tom Ryan said they felt ‘bullied’ into by-passing their own rules to allow that game to go ahead at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

They’re determined that won’t happen again and want Central Council to have the power to make any county ground available ‘in exceptional circumstances’ at short notice.

It’s prompted fears that club facilities may come under pressure from rival codes but it’s been clarified that the motion relates purely to inter-county grounds.

Meanwhile, motion 14 on the upcoming Congress agenda relates to the controversial pre-championship training camp rule and seeks to amend it.

Rule 6.22 (b) currently bars intercounty panels from taking part in ‘training weekends’ after the league has concluded, unless it’s within 10 days of their Championship opener.

Armagh and Laois (football) and Wexford and Waterford (hurling) were deemed to have contravened the rule last year and were stripped of home advantage for their first National League game.

Wexford won their appeal but

Armagh and Laois both played their ‘home’ games last weekend at neutral venues and failed to win, with Armagh drawing in Newry and Laois losing at Croke Park.

Laois boss John Sugrue (right) said after losing to Louth last weekend: “I think the bigger issue of punishing counties is the thing we need to look at a small bit.

“I have no problem in the wide earthly world coughing up a game for what we did, it was the right thing last year.”

SAGA The Liam Miller benefit game was eventually played at Pairc Ui Chaoimh