THE GAA HAVE explained the long queues outside Croke Park last Saturday which caused delays for fans attending the National League meeting between Kerry and Dublin.
In a statement released to The42, the GAA said the queues were caused by the “very late arrival of supporters who arrived in very large numbers within 30 minutes” of throw-in.
The Divison 1 opener was due to commence at 7.15pm on Saturday, but throw-in was delayed by a few minutes while several fans missed some of the first half.
Two other games were held at Croke Park earlier in the day, with Galway’s Oughterard claiming the All-Ireland intermediate club football title, while Na Gaeil of Kerry won the Junior decider.
A crowd of 42,502 spectators was announced during the Dublin v Kerry game, as David Clifford nailed a last-minute free to secure a draw after a thrilling spectacle.
“At games involving the Dublin football team, we often find that supporters arrive extremely late to the ground,” a statement from the GAA begins.
“This unfortunately was the case last Saturday evening.
“Despite the turnstiles being open from 2.15pm, only a third of supporters with tickets for the Cusack Stand had actually gone through the turnstiles before 6.45pm.
There was queuing at the Cusack [Stand] turnstiles last Saturday as a result of the very late arrival of supporters who arrived in very large numbers within 30 minutes of the Dublin V Kerry throw-in.”
The statement adds that a sufficient number of turnstiles were open to facilitate the number of fans coming into GAA headquarters for the repeat of the 2019 All-Ireland SFC final.
“While there were certainly enough turnstiles open and no safety risk to any match goer, there were delays on the night for supporters.
“We have and will continue to encourage all supporters to plan their journey to Croke Park and to endeavour to arrive at the stadium at least one hour before throw-in to allow for ticket checks and security searches that take place in advance of every match.
It is an area we will work on with Dublin supporters’ groups to get the message out to arrive in good time for the next Dublin match [against Monaghan] here in Croke Park on 8 February which will be at 7pm.”
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