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Council lash at player power

This article is from page 87 of the 2010-03-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 87 JPG

MUNSTER Council secretary Pat Fitzgerald has hit out at the player power that has raised its head in Clare, Cork and Limerick hurling over the past year, saying that “the terms strike or picket” have no place in the association.

In his annual report to be delivered to the Munster Council Convention in Listowel this Friday night, Fit- zgerald, has stated that co-operation between players and officials is the only way forward.

“Last year I mentioned difficul- ties which arose in Cork on player issues. Sadly this issue surfaced in other counties this year with Clare and Limerick embroiled in conflict between players and officials.

‘This trend is a disturbing one and we would now hope that with the Na-

tional Agreement between the GAA and the GPA these issues will be- come less frequent if not a memory altogether.

“We must all be aware of the re- sponsibilities we have, mutual re- spect is a two-way street, no person

or group hold a monopoly on respect because of their position. Genuine grievances must be sorted out in a spirit of harmony with all sides will- ing to listen.

“However, I must make a few clear points which might seem controver- sial but they are not intended to be. It is merely as aGAA person that I’m stating my beliefs. I respect any play- er who wishes to remove themselves for whatever reason, from their 1n- ter-county panel, however, I believe the terms ‘strike’ or ‘picket’ have no place in the GAA vocabulary and never should have.

“We must be more proactive with our players at inter-county level, making sure we are always aware of issues before they become confronta- tional. The day of expecting players to play and shut their mouths are over and rightly so,” added Fitzgerald.

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