THE GAA HAVE announced that two of Saturday’s All-Ireland round 3 football qualifier ties will take place in Croke Park, despite both Cavan and Kildare being entitled to home advantage for their games with Tyrone and Mayo respectively.
Cavan and Kildare were drawn out first in their pairings in this morning’s qualifier draw but both their games have been switched to headquarters for a double-header that will be televised live on Sky Sports.
Development work is currently being carried out on Kingspan Breffni Park, which means that venue is unavailable. Cavan’s ‘home’ game against Down in Saturday’s qualifier took place in Enniskillen.
The42 understands that the GAA have serious safety concerns about Newbridge’s capacity to host the game between Kildare and Mayo. The capacity of St Conleth’s Park is 9,000 but a crowd of approximately 20,000 is forecast by GAA officials with Mayo thought likely to bring in the region of 12,000 fans and Kildare estimated to have the support of 8,000 fans. There is also a concern about likelihood of people without tickets trying to gain access.
However, the decision has drawn fierce criticism. The Leinster Leader is reporting that Kildare are refusing to give up home advantage and have informed Croke Park they want the game to go ahead at St Conleth’s Park.
The remaining two matches on Saturday afternoon will see Leitrim host Monaghan in Carrick-on-Shannon and Armagh entertain Clare in the Athletic Grounds.
Saturday 30 June
All-Ireland SFC qualifiers round 3
Leitrim v Monaghan, Pairc Sean MacDiarmada, 2.30pm
Armagh v Clare, Athletic Grounds, 3pm
Cavan v Tyrone, Croke Park, 5pm (Live on Sky Sports)
Kildare v Mayo, Croke Park, 7pm (Live on Sky Sports)
All set up for Sky, hope Kildare digs in the heels and refuses to play anywhere else. Some team is going to have to make a stand like this at some stage
@Enda Reynolds: I’m not saying its the right decision but where is all this outrage when leinster teams trot up to Croke Park to play Dublin at home every year. Might actually give the Dubs a game if Kildare played them in Newbridge every so often!
Newbridge, Derby Day and one of the best teams in the county playing against the Lillies. Despite the capacity, it would be a great occasion for the town.
The Grab All Association…
@Phil O’ Meara: please explain how we are,sick of hearing that.
@Daniel Roche: Moving games to a neutral venue to accommodate a bigger crowd and make more money. Simple enough really.
@Hugh Jass: did you read the article? 20000 into 9000 doesn’t go!!
@Hugh Jass: ya it would lead to more tickets sold but that is because everyone who wants to attend the match would be able to. Mayo always travel in numbers so not really fair to deny anyone a ticket just because venue can’t host them all
@Joe Kennedy: Yea i did read the article. 20000 into 9000 doesnt go. Thats correct well done. So what though. Why should a game be moved and home advantage given up because the home ground can’t accommodate all the fans that want to go. This was the same argument with Dublin not playing in Wicklow. It should be up to the home county if they want to move or not.
@gary sheehan: So if Tipperary had beaten Mayo then the match wouldn’t have to be moved because they don’t have big support but because it’s Mayo it does because they have big support? What about an all ireland final where demand could be 150000 or 200000? Should we build a bigger stadium to accommodate everyone?
@gary sheehan: hold the all ireland final in the Maracana so ffs
@Hugh Jass: what a ridiculous argument. I’m not sure what the demand for tickets would have been had Tipperary won but if it was greater than the venue then yes I would still say move it to a bigger venue. As for the all Ireland final, Croke park is the largest stadium we have my car but if there was a larger one then yes of course we should use that. There isn’t though but in the case of mayo and Kildare there is
@Hugh Jass: but sure they want as many as possible to be able to see the game I assume no?! Mayo are known for having large numbers of travelling supporters so it wouldn’t be fair to deny them a chance to go to the game either would it?
@Joe Kennedy: Actually it would be fair from Kildare’s POV. They were drawn as the home team, it’s entirely fair to assume they would gain some sort of advantage in that situation i.e having more supporters in their home ground than Mayo. Otherwise just play every match at Croker.
@Daniel Roche: Is home advantage only granted when the GAA feel they can “accommodate all the fans who want to attend”? Can it then be rescinded and moved to a neutral venue without consultation?
Maybe Kildare don’t want 15,000 Mayo fans accommodated?
If fan accommodation is so important then explain the Sky deal to me.
Why did Tipperary have to play Cork 6 days after their championship game against Waterford with a 4 week window before the final?
The Super 8s is the start of apartheid with the proto-professional teams about to cut adrift the weaker counties.
@gary sheehan: Its not really a terrible argument. By your logic a county with a small ground would never have home advantage if they drew a big county with big support. That’s completely unfair.
@Hugh Jass: I’m. A mayo fan and don’t see why it should be moved. Not fair that we will be given the opportunity to bring more fans to the game.
@Samurai Blue Fan: Croke Park holds more
Disgrace. Agree with Kildare. Don’t give up home advantage
@Kroenke Out: and where will the 11000 expected surplus supporters go?!
@Joe Kennedy: would rather a packed out St Conleth’s with the atmosphere electric than a half-empty Croke Park where you can hear the players’ farts
@Show Me The Mané: haha…. Fair enough! Lot of people would miss out on getting to see it though which wouldn’t really make sense to me when there’s a bigger stadium available.
@Joe Kennedy: What happens if Kildare make it to the Super 8s? Unlikely now against a great Mayo team but next year or the year after, will their home ground not be good enough then? It’s a nonsense. If they want to play their game in Newbridge, they should be allowed to. If they are forced to move due to “safety concerns”, at least allow them to pick the alternative venue.
@Show Me The Mané: well Kildare are appealing the decision now anyway so we’ll see how they get on with it.
@Joe Kennedy: they could feck off back to Mayo
@John O Reilly: haha….good job you’re not involved in the decision anyway John!!
@Joe Kennedy: So the knee should be bent to accommodate the away fans, that’s total bull, if Mayo get Dublin in the super 8s would ye lot think it fair to move it to Croker if it was due to be ye’re home game, I wouldn’t think so
@John O Reilly: Did Mayo hurt you too?
@Michael Faney: yere lot and yere home game? I’m not from Mayo!
It’s a sham, and a farce… And a sham
Sky calling the shots and GAA ensuring that Mayo and Tyrone get every advantage to get to the super 8s. Surely if there were concerns over capacity of both grounds both Cavan and Kildare should have been given the choice of alternative venue, at least.
As if Kildare and Cavan werent already at a serious disadvantage
Have to make sure mayo make super 8s. Too much cash left behind if 40,000 mad mayo people arent making 3 or 4 more croker trips this summer
@Samurai Blue Fan: haha, brilliant! Did not see that coming at all! Can you come up with something for Tyrone as well or are we completely ignoring that game?
@Kevin Gallagher: Cavan”s ground is not available
@Sean Ryan: If every single person in mayo were on the dole and benefits (which they’re not) it wouldn’t even be a drop in the ocean to how much tallaght and blanch alone are absolutely bleeding the system dry!
@John O Reilly: Croke park was the next choice for two Ulster teams?
@Sean Ryan: That’s one of the dumbest comments I’ve ever read on the journal.
And only on sky, nothing to see here, move along.
Taking 2 ulster teams to croke park, clones would have been perfect and would have got around 20000 on a Saturday evening. There goes any hope Cavan and Mayo have as well. Both Tyrone and Mayo play their best football in the wide open spaces of croke park against these types of sides
May be slightly blasphemous to say as a Kildare man but I think that playing outside of St. Conleths Park may be a good thing for Kildare in their current state.
Having said that, the decision has probably been made because of Sky wanting the game to be in the 7pm slot on Saturday.
7pm on Saturday would have been a non-starter in Newbridge with the Derby traffic and higher than usual amount of people shopping in the town due to the good weather.
Obviously the correct decision, the mayo season ticket holders would nearly fill the original venue on their own. It’s absolute nonsense to think that a game should be played in a venue that can hold 33% of the expected attendance. If a county hasn’t a venue that can hold these crowds then they automatically should lose home advantage, some people would find a way to blame the GAA and sky for everything
@Sean Lawlor: It not Kildare’s fault that Mayo county board have sold so many season tickets or that they are so many fools to buy them.
what you are suggestion is that a county with a small population and a small venue should never get home advantage just because some counties have to many season tickets.
@Sean Ryan: What I’m suggesting is that people should be allowed to attend a match if they want to. Holding the match in kildare would mean about 12,000 people would be locked out. That’s surely a lot worse than losing home advantage, at least the kildare fans will see the game in croke park.
@Sean Ryan: I’m not sure why you describe mayo fans as fools for purchasing a season ticket to follow their county either
@Sean Lawlor: I want to attend the all Ireland final. Just because I want to go doesn’t mean I can go. The atmosphere would be amazing in newbridge and will be terrible in croke Park with only around 30000 people going.
@Kroenke Out: So you think that 12,000 people should miss out on attending the game in order for 8,000 to enjoy a better atmosphere. That doesn’t make any sense to me honestly
@Sean Lawlor: Kildare were drawn at home they deserve to play at home. This should not change just because some mayo fans want to watch the game
@Kroenke Out: If they want to play at home, they should have a proper stadium that can host it. Its not just mayo fans that will miss the game, they are basically denying their own supporters. Maybe they don’t have enough of them to worry about it…..
@Sean Lawlor: Plenty of games sell out and some fans are left wanting, so what, a team should be given home advantage if they are given it in the draw, you don’t see FA cup games moved to Wembley just because Fleetwood town can’t handle a 20,000 crowd. The GAA aren’t trying to accommodate the away fans for fear of them being sad at missing this televised game, they’re chasing the money nothing more.
No harm ,St. Conleths Park is an awful kip.
@Ray Farrell: it’s a good argument for refurbishing it or moving it outside the town centre. It’s clearly not fit for purpose
@Toomasu Sumitsu: its dressing rooms along struggle to hold sets of club squads never mind inter county squads and backroom teams. The pitch is awful, with a hill in the corner by the clubhouse.
I support Mayo and believe this makes it much easier for them to win but regardless it’s disgusting and un-sporting how the GAA can shift home advantage around as it pleases to suit its pocket. A super 8 to come where Dublin will have 2 home games compared to everyone elses 1. It’s a farce, if you described this competition to someone else abroad they’d laugh at how skewed it is to produce money over a fair outcome.
@Rochelle: Totally agree with excellent comment.
@Rochelle: it’s not to suit its pockets though….says in the article why they were going to move it! And it explained in a previous article why Dublin have two home games too. In all honesty does it matter where Dublin play their games at the moment? They’d probably win playing in the field out the back here!
Maybe it’s time for the GAA to open their wallet and improve the county grounds. If they want the game to grow outside of Dublin then put in the investment.
Don’t get me started on what they should be doing for the clubs as well.
The least they can do is improve Conleths In Newbridge. Growing numbers in Kildare and a county ground that’s a disgrace.
I hope they stick to their guns and play at home.
Kildare county board build new stadium
Why say that teams will have a home match an away match and one in croker. Why not just say that you’ll have you play wherever suits sky to bring their equipment to. Feck all to do with accommodating supporters and try not to be so condescending to them. #behindkildare
@Fiona Ryan: well said. Makes a mockery of the draw
KILDARE MAY AS WELL PLAY ON THE BIGGEST ARENA IN THE COUNTRY AND AGAINST ONE OF THE BEST TEAMS IN THE BESIDES SAINT CONLETH’S PARK HASN’T ALWAYS BEEN A HAPPY HUNTING GROUND FOR THE LILLIES
@Noel Martin: ilI was talkin to a Dublin fan , and he said that Mayo are the worst team in the country…even worse than kilkenny (who dont have a football team). So i dont know what your complaining about.
@Noel Martin: no need to shout! :)
I have also heard a lot of Dublin fans say they love to travel down the country for a game. Always going to Croker gets boring. GAA need better football grounds all over the country. Not just kildare
Just after watching RTE sport, C O’Neil was adamant the match will be in Newbridge. It could turn out to be a Mexican stand off If C O N sticks to his guns by refusing to travel to Croke Park then Mayo could possibly receive a by and automatically qualify for the next round.
Disgrace if Kildare lose home advantage.
So what if the 11000 can’t go?
A sold out Newbridge would be a hell of a lot better than 20000 in croke Park where you can hear the players talk
No problem with the recent div1 league match being in Newbridge. This is money at the expense of fairness (similar to all Dublin advantages) and is exactly why I couldn’t be arsed with the gaa. Not level playing field
@Rusty Nuts: you’re not comparing a league game with a knockout qualifier championship game surely are you?!
As a kildare supporter and fair play for all counties I think this is a disgrace. I don’t know why they think kildare will have less support they are always well supported across all codes. As for the super 8′s the rules state that teams who reach this stage of the competition plays 1 home game 1 away game and 1 game in croker so there for Dublin should play 1 game in croker 1 game away and 1 in parnell Park as this is there home venue. There should not be 1 rule for 1 and another for everyone else. This is not an anti Dublin Post but rules that were set out and agreed in Congress should be applied. Remember the gaa is a community organisation all inclusive not an elitist organisation.
GAA are a joke, hope Kildare get this overturned. Clear moneygrabbing tactics from Croke Park. Home advantage dictates home team have far more tickets available for their own supporters attending the game, regardless of Mayo being good travelling supporters. Luck of the draw and should stand no question.
Cavan are already up against it but if that game had gone to clones we’d be screwd completely as Tyrone prefer clones than any other ground including omagh, so personally speaking, clones was not an option. Crocker not much better as it will be a crap atmosphere.
@Allen Durkin: Cavan are the big losers here as they never win a game in croke.
Have to question what was the cavan county board thinking by allowing developments work to start during the summer ???
@Sean Ryan: this is all mayos fault.
Shocking decision from the GAA
I hope the game goes ahead in Newbridge
Some of the comments have Dublin in them .how stupid are you people .thiis is nothing about Dublin .so stop the Dublin comments .
Would like to hear from the players on this. What would the GAA do if the Mayo County Board backed Kildare on this one and refused to go to Croke Park as well. That would really set the cat among the pigeons. What the GAA are saying here is that the rules apply only when it suits them.