Battle of Omagh
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:15 pm
I can remember an under 21 championship match, it could have been the first round, i'm not sure, but offaly were playing dublin. Similar to the much talked about battle of omagh, a big brawl ensued midway through the second half in parnell park. I think it was the crowd who started it because a bottle was thrown at a player on the pitch but again, i'm not too sure. Either way, due to the rioting the game was called to a halt.
The punishment handed down to the teams was that they were thrown out of the leinster campaign altogether for that year, and could not play their u21 championship homegames at home for the following couple of years.
The GAA has progressed so much since that day probably ten or less years ago. Players get better treatment and the although the association is not at all professional it has become more professional. There was no excuse for the behaviour of some Tyrone and Dublin players that day. If the GAA are to go forward rather than backward, why were Tyrone and Dublin not thrown out of the league, in the same way a few young guys were thrown out of an u21 championship almost a decade ago? If they did, it would be less likely to happen again. There just doesn't seem to be consistency, any opinions?
The punishment handed down to the teams was that they were thrown out of the leinster campaign altogether for that year, and could not play their u21 championship homegames at home for the following couple of years.
The GAA has progressed so much since that day probably ten or less years ago. Players get better treatment and the although the association is not at all professional it has become more professional. There was no excuse for the behaviour of some Tyrone and Dublin players that day. If the GAA are to go forward rather than backward, why were Tyrone and Dublin not thrown out of the league, in the same way a few young guys were thrown out of an u21 championship almost a decade ago? If they did, it would be less likely to happen again. There just doesn't seem to be consistency, any opinions?