LAST UPDATE | 1 Apr 2022
THE CORK FOOTBALLERS insist they will not agree to playing their Munster semi-final at any venue other than Páirc Uí Rinn, hitting out at Munster GAA for the change they have made to the fixture.
In a statement issued to The42 last night, the Cork players expressed their fury with the decision to move their game against Kerry to Fitzgerald Stadium on Saturday 7 May, a change from the original venue of Páirc Uí Rinn.
The Munster CCC removed home advantage from Cork as they deemed the venue’s capacity too small to cater for the game.
The Cork players feel the decision ‘is driven by the financial benefits resulting from a larger crowd’ and that it creates ‘a bad precedent’ and ‘is wrong’.
They believe the decision ‘must be reversed’.
The statement in full reads:
“As players and management our sole focus is on preparing and playing to the best of our ability next month in the Munster Championship, representing our families, our clubs and our county. We did not envisage needing to issue this statement.
“Cork and Kerry have long had an agreement in place to decide home and away fixtures. This year’s fixture is a home game for Cork, as initially announced in a press release by Munster GAA on the 4th of March.
“We believe the decision made this week by the Munster Council must be reversed.
“The decision to take the game to Killarney is driven by the financial benefits resulting from a larger crowd. We feel this reasoning sets a bad precedent, it is wrong and it goes against the values of the Gaelic Athletic Association.
“As such, we are preparing for the Munster Football Semi-Final on 7 May 2022 to be played in Páirc Uí Rinn.
“We will not be playing the match in any other venue.
“Regards,
“The Cork Senior Football Players & Management”
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