County bosses told: Don’t put season at risk
CROKE PARK chiefs issued a stark warning to inter-county managers last night not to ‘jeopardise’ the resumption of the GAA season by breaching collective training rules. As the Government gave the green light for the inter-county teams to return to training from April 19, GAA president Larry McCarthy and director-general Tom Ryan sent a letter to all units last night warning that anyone who breaches that deadline in an attempt to gain an advantage could lead to dire consequences for the season going ahead. ‘It should be noted these dates are conditional and will very much depend on what happens in terms of the overall Covid-19 picture in the coming weeks,’ they pointed out. ‘For that reason it is more important than ever that no collective training sessions are held between now and the Government-indicated return dates. ‘Breaches in this context will not only be dealt under our own Rules but would likely put the broader plan to return to activity in serious jeopardy,’ warned the GAA chiefs who have already come down hard on the Cork and Down football set-ups for breaching the ban on
training. The return date of April 19 should mean that the Allianz Leagues will being on the weekend of May 15/16 — 11 weeks later than initially scheduled. In last night’s letter, Croke Park committed to publishing its amended fixture schedule by the ‘end of next week’ but while competition formats have to be decided, it is committed to playing both League and Championship. The GAA’s influential Covid Advisory Committee will determine the window that will be available to complete inter-county competitions which will not run beyond August, while it is also expected to beef up protocols for a safe return to play. While advocates of Under 18s returning to noncontact training will be disappointed by the new April 26 deadline, a pathway for the resumption of club activity may open up in early May when all members could be allowed to return to noncontact training. However, Taoiseach Micheál Martin would not be pressed on giving a possible date for a return of spectators. ‘I’m not going to speculate beyond in terms of fans attending. That will be very challenging. But I think what we will do at the end of April is we will look at all non-contact training for all ages. ‘We’ll have that on the 26th of April. It’s going to be a difficult April for those, I acknowledge that but we have to get the balance right, and it is about a safe and sensible approach that will reap dividends later on,’ said Mr Martin.