We have plenty of those in the country.Īppointing someone with a deep understanding of the law instead would be a good start. The true challenge would not be in appointing someone with a deep understanding of the GAA and its culture and tradition. Such a decision would be likely to attract plenty of criticism, but how significant would that be in the context of the last week alone? These were introduced originally in a bid to stop clubs and counties resorting to High Court injunctions to get players past suspensions, and the temptation now is to let clubs and counties take their charges in court, but that’s a cop-out.Īs Jack Anderson has often suggested in these pages, the appointment of a citing officer to deal with cases is the obvious remedy to this situation, if the GAA hierarchy has the stomach to do so. Instead of focusing on the identify of one particular individual who was involved, with the accompanying comfort of railing against people using his name on social media, the scenes on the sideline should be recognised as the final nail in the coffin for the GAA’s forest of initial-heavy disciplinary committees. The key issue was the opportunity afforded by the row in Croke Park. But a quick reminder: interventions from the likes of Catherine Martin and Charlie Flanagan weren’t the key issues last week, handy though they were as pretexts for various actors. It’s difficult sometimes on general principles not to poke back at such people when they intervene, and your columnist has found it too difficult not to poke back at times, certainly. Talking point: “I can discuss what happened in Croke Park because I’m a member of the Association, while you are not, therefore your opinion is not valid.” This is not valuable in and of itself, but it serves as a rallying call for GAA people of all stripes because it allows for more doublethink. Yet the vagueness of such an offence - contributing? - means there’s a ready-made basis for a county secretary to form his appeal.Īnother reliable step in the seven stages of GAA controversy came last week with the intervention of public figures, such as politicians, condemning the scenes in Croke Park. Kelly’s is an even more interesting case because a cursory glance at the melee suggests he wasn’t the worst offender on the day, but by getting involved he contributed to the melee, which is an offence in the GAA rulebook. Talking point: “Our man has been sent off, but our reaction isn’t that we must improve our discipline: rather, it’s how can we sidestep the punishment. There’s a delicious anti-logic to the fact that people bemoaning the GAA’s attitude to discipline also bemoaned someone getting a red card. The fact that it was quickly presumed he’d be free to play on appealing the red card shows a twisted logic that has become normalised by its own universality. Kelly was sent off by referee David Coldrick before extra time was played last weekend along with Armagh’s Aidan Nugent. What was notable in the aftermath of the Croke Park row was the immediate focus on whether or not Galway captain Seán Kelly would be free to play in the All-Ireland semi-final. Perhaps the shambles which passes for GAA discipline is a factor. It doesn’t matter that other athletes who confront each other physically, from rugby players to soccer professionals, don't need that kind of separation.”ĭoes anyone truly believe that Gaelic games has players who are so competitive and aggressive that they can’t enter a stadium tunnel together? For a group of athletes whose commitment is held up as being professional in all but name, why is there a pass given to players for scenes like the Galway-Armagh fight? Talking point: “Our players are just so competitive that they need to fight with each other at every opportunity. This worked in parallel with suggestions that teams should tog out in the dressing-rooms on opposite sides of Croke Park, a tacit admission that the best hurlers and footballers just can’t control their behaviour.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |