THE SCENARIO WHERE Dublin U21 footballers were forced this week into choosing between club and county has been described as ‘morally wrong’.
The assertion has been made by Declan Brennan, the founder of the Club Players Association, after the issue emerged ahead of Dublin’s clash with Galway in the EirGrid All-Ireland U21 football final on Saturday 29 April.
Shane Clayton, who came on as a substitute in last Saturday’s semi-final win over Donegal, did start for his club Ballyboden St-Enda’s last night with Colm Basquel coming on as a substitute in their eventual defeat against St Oliver Plunkett’s-Eoghan Ruadh.
Clayton went off injured which is a blow for Dublin manager Dessie Farrell ahead of the decider in O’Connor Park, Tullamore.
In a statement released on the CPA’s Twitter account, Brennan bemoaned the fact that Dublin U21 players came under such pressure and that ‘they cannot win long term pulled between two teams’.
The decision to fix club matches close to the knockout games in the All-Ireland U21 championship was also questioned and a call was made for someone ‘to step in (to) take responsibility and defuse the pressure on players’.
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