IT’S BEEN CONFIRMED that Libby Coppinger will focus exclusively on camogie this Saturday, after the Cork ladies’ footballers agreed to release the dual star.
It had been previously thought that Coppinger would have to play two All-Ireland championship games in one day, with the senior football quarter-final against Galway taking place at 12.30pm in Cusack Park, Mullingar this weekend, before Cork’s camogie side lined out against the Tribeswomen in the semi-final in Limerick the same day at 7pm.
Cork football manager Ephie Fitzgerald appeared on RedFM on Friday to express his anger at the potential dilemma and today tweeted confirmation that Coppinger would be free to focus solely on camogie this weekend.
In the interest of player welfare we are releasing Libby Coppinger to focus exclusively on camogie next Saturday #playersmustcomefirst
— Ephie Fitzgerald (@ephiefitzgerald) August 16, 2017
The news comes after a backlash criticising the situation regarding Coppinger.
Cork ladies football selector James Masters was among those to weigh in, telling The42 on Monday: “It 100% comes down to player welfare, that’s their responsibility. The whole logistics of it even. We’re going up there [Mullingar] Friday night so Libby will stay up there, play her match at half 12, do a warm down, drive down to Limerick, do a warm up and start in an All-Ireland semi-final. It’s ridiculous. When you think of it, it’s actually embarrassing.”
The Camogie Association and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) had previously arranged a deal to avoid major fixture clashes, with games being set for alternate weekend days, but the latest saga has again brought the issue to light.
“Due to live television commitments unfortunately it is not possible to re-arrange our upcoming semi-final fixtures,” an LGFA spokesperson said in a statement released to The42 earlier this week.
Subscribe to The42 podcasts here:
