RTE PUNDITS PAT Spillane and Sean Cavanagh engaged in a lively debate over the Covid-19 cases in the Tyrone camp that resulted in the rescheduling of the All-Ireland semi-final.
The Ulster champions will meet Kerry at Croke Park on Saturday after two postponements. Speaking before the game, Sean Cavanagh was adamant that Tyrone have been following guidelines this year.
“To speculate around how someone has picked up Covid or how the players are, I know for a fact, some of the guys work for me as well, that the guys have been sick. There have been at least seven or eight players that I know have tested positive.
“Those guys have brothers on the team. Those guys have friends, they maybe travelled together in cars. Some of them don’t drive.”
.@CavanaghSean14 is adamant that Tyrone did not "flaunt the rules" in relation to the delay of their All-Ireland football semi-final with Kerry #rtegaa #kerryvtyrone pic.twitter.com/FNiwMkO7nW
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 28, 2021
However, former Kerry footballer Pat Spillane disagreed and said there were still questions that needed to be answered.
“Couple of things. Covid is a very serious respiratory illness and player welfare is important. That is correct. The result that the game is played today is the best of a lot of bad choices. I agree with playing the game, correct.
“Kerry have a reputation of being cute hoors, it is something we have earned over years — that tag of ‘cute hoor’. But when you see another crowd acting the cute hoor and being even better at it than us, that was Tyrone.
“I’ll tell you what Tyrone did. Tyrone played an absolute blinder. They called the GAA’s bluff. They called Kerry’s bluff. They played a game of poker. They hurled a grenade in and the GAA blinked. Kerry blinked.”
Pat Spillane is not happy with the "vacuum of information" that he feels is coming out of the Tyrone camp in relation to the Covid-19 outbreak within the Ulster champions' squad #rtegaa #kerryvtyrone pic.twitter.com/cuNioPCJWI
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 28, 2021
Spillane went on to query events before and after the victory over Monaghan last month.
“I am curious, why did so many people at the one time in the Tyrone camp get Covid? Did close contacts come to the Ulster final? Did close contacts go to the socialising event? Did they follow Covid protocol?”
In response, Cavanagh pointed to the dressing room arrangements as an area where transmission may occur.
“There are 35 players sitting in a changing room right now under the Hogan Stand. In the Ulster final, there would have been 30 players sitting there from Tyrone. Is there a chance they might have been close together? Of course there is.”
