AS THE FALLOUT from Sunday’s JFC semi-final between Derrytresk and Dromid Pearses continues, Pat Spillane has said the problem of violence in the GAA wll continue until clubs are ejected from competitions.
Speaking on RTE Radio’s Sport at Seven last night Spillane said:
“I know Dromid – small rural club, good lads, wouldn’t have reputation for anything like this, they’re a good good bunch.
“But when you see the YouTube and the clips on the news and on the television, there’s no point in waiting for referees report or an umpires report or anyone’s report. The eye doesn’t lie.”
By now, the wait for the official report from the referee should have reached GAA headquarters as their rule states a three day time limit on the submission of the report. That will be mulled over by the Central Competitions Control Committee and yesterday GAA president Christy Cooney left responsibility at the door of the CCCC.
“It’s not acceptable in our association,” Cooney told Newstalk, “we abhor any violence of any nature and we would ask the club to co-operate fully with the CCCC.”
Spillane, meanwhile, went on to vent the reasons which he feels are the root cause for such violence and recommended much sterner sanctions against offending clubs rather than individuals.
“It’s for many reasons” said Spillane, “there is a lack of respect for the rules, a lack of respect for referees, there are too many people on the sidelines who are out of control and now, particularly among the younger generation there is a level of aggression which wasn’t there in the past.
“The punishments handed out are fairly lightweight – the sooner we treat these incidents with the seriousness they deserve the sooner we throw teams and clubs out of competitions. That’s the only way we get the message across that this will not be condoned.”
However, speaking on the same programme, former Mayo forward Kevin McStay was sceptical over whether such an outcome would ever be reached:
“Who’s ever been thrown out?” McStay said, “you throw (a club) out and then they appeal it, it’s rescinded and they’re back in again and that has been the pattern.”
