LIMERICK BOSS JOHN Kiely branded it ‘unacceptable’ but there is unlikely to be a relaxation on the restrictions in place over the number of players that can attend GAA matches as the 2020 championship moves into the All-Ireland series.
Kiely hit out after yesterday’s Munster final win over Waterford at the regulation that prevented ten players from his extended squad for being allowed to attend the game at Semple Stadium.
Since GAA got the green light for inter-county senior championship games to take place, only those on the 26-player matchday squads allowed into stadiums along with 12 members of the management and backroom team for counties.
2018 All-Ireland winning boss Kiely stated he is ‘quite offended’ by that scenario and made a passionate appeal to ‘the authorities at Governement level, at national level, to end this nonsense’, when speaking at the post-match media briefing at the Thurles venue.
With 11 games left to take place in the 2020 senior championships – six in football and five in hurling – the GAA are not envisaging a change to that regulation.
“We’ve had an open line of communication into the Nphet Committee for Sport and they signed off on the figures permitted,” a GAA spokesperson told The42.
“I don’t believe change is likely any time soon. I’m not aware of any managers being touch with us at central level on the issue.
“I think most know that we are adhering to the public health advice and guidelines as signed off by government and other relevant authorities.”
Limerick are next out in action on Sunday 29 November with their All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final date. They will know the identity of their opponents after next Saturday’s quarter-finals.
- Additional reporting by Sinead Farrell
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