Fixtures in Ulster `on course'

A final decision on the revised Ulster senior football championship is not expected until tomorrow. The Games Administration Committee of the Ulster Council met in Monaghan last night to discuss the implications of the most recent foot-and-mouth outbreaks in Tyrone and Antrim but further consultation with the counties involved is required before the adjusted schedule is confirmed.

Ulster Council chairman Danny Murphy did confirm yesterday that there is "no danger" to the completion of the championship as long as there are no further outbreaks of the disease in the area. "We still have a few options at this stage," he said, "but other people have to be contacted before we can confirm what the changes will be."

It is almost certain that the first-round meeting between Antrim and Derry will be put back a week from May 13th to May 20th, as the 30-day exclusion period from the outbreak in Cushendall in Antrim doesn't conclude until may 15th. Armagh and Tyrone are also due to meet on the 20th but there is also some leeway to move that game back a week, if desired.

Tyrone's request to have their under-21 championship final against Fermanagh deferred will be heard by Croke Park's management committee this evening. However, even if Fermanagh are nominated to play in the All-Ireland semi-final, it is expected that the Ulster decider with Fermanagh will be played at a later date.

If Cork beat Limerick in tomorrow's Munster final - setting up a meeting with the Ulster champions - they would, it is understood, accommodate playing the semi-final at a deferred date.

Club football goes ahead in Tyrone this weekend, with the exception of ties involving clubs from the 10-kilometre exclusion zone around the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Ardboe. "We are following closely the advice given by Croke Park, and club football has been given the go-ahead for this weekend," said county chairman Cuthbert Donnelly.