Harte vents concerns

GAELIC GAMES:IT MAY be coincidence or it may not but Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte is wondering why the only players to be reprimanded by the GAA's Central Competition Control Committee (CCCC) so far this year on the basis of video evidence happen to be from his county.

Tyrone forward Tommy McGuigan is due before the Central Hearing Committee this week, having been called up by the CCCC after an incident with Derry’s Seán Marty Lockhart. Tyrone defender Ryan McMenamin is currently serving an eight-week ban, also based on video evidence, from an incident in the Kerry game.

“Who is determining what games are being looked at?” asked Harte. “I would like to know what criteria they’re working under, and why these are the only two incidents that have been brought up. Because it’s never been clear to anyone.

“And I’m at a loss as to why there have been no other incidents in any other game that merited a review, especially if the Tommy McGuigan incident merited a review. I can’t see the level-handed approach here.

“Seeing it from where I’m looking, it doesn’t seem to be a level playing field. Maybe someone in their wisdom can decide that it is, but they might tell us.

“I can’t say there is some vendetta against Tyrone, but I am saying that it seems statistically unlikely that the only two incidents that merit this kind of consideration happen to be two of our players.”

When the opposite is true, and players are cleared on video evidence, Harte says the onus is on the player to seek that route – that the CCCC won’t instigate that procedure. “You’d think that the GAA, and football in particular, was in total crisis, a discipline crisis,” added Harte, in reference to ongoing debate surrounding the yellow card rules.

“There is so much talk about the rules, and indiscipline, almost as if it’s anarchy out there. It’s not true. There are certain incidents that have to be dealt with and always will be, but 95 per cent of what we’re doing is positive, is great to see.”

GAA president Nickey Brennan, however, defended the system: “If there are incidents that need reviewing I think it’s important that they are reviewed. I think the policy we have adopted is fair, and reasonable. But look at the opposite. There have been a lot of individuals not happy with how an incident was dealt with, and have come before the CCCC, and their sending-off was rescinded. That doesn’t get anything like the same publicity.”

Brennan also dismissed as “nonsense” the comments of Clare hurling manager Mike McNamara that suggested there was little point in contesting Division Two hurling, given its competitive nature. “If you’re good enough you’ll stay in Division One, and if you’re not then you’ll go down to Division Two. And fight your way up again. So I wouldn’t be comfortable with those comments and I think it’s unfair to the teams that have made Division Two so competitive this year.”