Tyrone will not boycott cameras

THE TELEVISION cameras will not be turned away from Healy Park, Omagh. But Tyrone officials are to demand consistency from disciplinary chiefs at Croke Park.

Tyrone manager Mickey Harte had warned of a boycott of television coverage of home National Football League games as he is furious at the retrospective banning of three of his top players following a review of video replays, while the same level of scrutiny is not being applied across the board.

But it now appears the county board will stop short of banning television cameras from future games. “We understand and appreciate Croke Park have a contractual arrangement with television companies,” said county chairman Ciarán McLaughlin. “That’s good for the exposure of our games, good for people to be able to see the games.

“However, when it comes to our games being televised and our players then being sanctioned as a result of the television coverage, we have an issue with that. We want to see every game being treated the same way.”

McLaughlin stated a preference for consistent application by Croke Park of the use of video review rather than any move on Tyrone’s part towards preventing television companies from covering games. “As we heard from Ryan McMenamin at the weekend, if Waterford and Leitrim, or whoever it is, are playing a game, let’s get everybody treated the same way. If television cameras are at the other games, we have no problem.”

While supporting the concerns voiced by Harte, McLaughlin insisted dialogue with Croke Park will be pursued in an effort to find a solution. “What we will do, and we will always do, is talk to and indeed support our manager. Last Sunday, we lost players, and that was detrimental to us and to our performance.

“What we want to ensure is we get an agreed way forward, and a way that will satisfy Tyrone, because our interests are to ensure Tyrone are always at the forefront, and making sure we get things down that are in Tyrone’s interests.

“In terms of what Mickey said about the closure of the grounds, I would suggest we would probably have to liaise very closely with Croke Park to let them see our position, and to make sure they understand that we want to be treated as fairly as anybody else.

“At the end of the day we want to see the exposure for our games, but if we are going to use television cameras, then it has to be used for everyone.”