Kilmacud v Glen controversy: GAA boss Ryan rejects criticism over 16th-man saga
- Published
Kilmacud (in purple) had 16 players defending their goal in the dying seconds at Croke Park
GAA director general Tom Ryan has rejected the view that the association should have intervened in the All-Ireland Club Final '16th-man' saga.
The GAA waited for beaten Glen to officially object rather than moving itself even when it was clear Kilmacud had finished the game with 16 men.
This led to widespread comment about a lack of GAA leadership but Ryan defended Croke Park's stance.
"The safest thing we could do is abide by a process that works," he said.
"We should be really careful not to obviously intervene, but not to undermine that process either."
Following Glen's objection, the GAA's disciplinary body, the Central Competitions Control Committee [CCCC] did order a replay and it's now anticipated that Kilmacud will lodge an appeal against this decision.
Speaking at the launch of the GAA's annual report, Ryan said that the process for dealing with the 16th-man controversy should not have changed just because the game was an All-Ireland Senior Final.
"To my mind if you are playing junior D football in west Kerry or you're an All-Star hurler in north Antrim, it's the same disciplinary system," insisted the GAA director general.
While Ryan spoke about the All-Ireland Club Football Club Final controversy, GAA president Larry McCarthy refused to comment on the issue
"Also, that competition started out with a normal disciplinary regime attached to it in the first round of the various county championships across the country.
"It's appropriate that the same regime would apply at the pinnacle of it as well. I wouldn't be in favour of a two-tier, or a multiple-tier disciplinary system based on how good players are."
Ryan defended the GAA's nine-day silence on the matter which has continued until Tuesday morning's announcement that a replay had been ordered.
He also insisted that the right approach was not to interfere in the CCCC's process.
"I have never, ever picked up the phone to the chair or anybody in the CCCC to say 'this is the way I want this to go'. I have never done that. I will never do that."
GAA president Larry McCarthy refused to say anything further about the issue at the launch of the annual report.
The annual report showed that the association recorded a surplus of 18.2m euros [£16.22m] which was partly explain by the 21.7m euros [£19.34m] rise in gate receipts as match venues opened up once more following the end of Covid-19 restrictions plus revenue generated by concerts at Croke Park.
The surplus was up from last year's figure of 13.5 euros [£12.03m] even though Irish government funding fell from 29.8m euros [£26.57] in 2021 to 21.3m euros [£19m] in 2022.