McCague wants to view red tape

The president of the GAA Seán McCague has called for details from a number of county boards regarding their decisions to exonerate players who received straight red cards from serving the automatic suspension.

Although his statement did not explicitly emphasise as much, his comments almost certainly originate in the week-long controversy surrounding the Kerry County Board's decision to clear midfielder and captain Darragh Ó Sé to play in Sunday's All-Ireland football semi-final against Cork.

Ó Sé was red-carded in a club championship game between An Ghaeltacht and Austin Stacks.

A terse statement released at the weekend noted that, "there is no charge in the referee's report to warrant a suspension."

While the attention is unfortunate for Ó Sé, it is embarrassing for the GAA.

"As one who has always supported the implementation of a fair disciplinary system interpreted in a consistent manner, I am asking a number of county committees to furnish immediately all the relevant details of decisions taken by them," reads the statement from the president. "No further comment will be made until we have an opportunity to study each individual case."

Although that suggests that McCague, who is known to have intervened in attempts by Down to exonerate one of their players from suspension last year, may criticise individual cases, it is unlikely that his comments will have any bearing on Ó Sé's eligibility for Sunday's match.

It is understood that the Kerry board released their statement through Croke Park on the day of the Dublin-Donegal match and as such received clearance from the higher authority in facilitating Ó Sé's passage through.

Meanwhile, Tipperary hurling fans are waiting on manager Nicky English to decide whether he will remain in charge for another season.

"Naturally, everyone in Tipperary is hoping that he stays on, but I would not so much as dream of speculating as to what his intentions are," said county PRO Liz Howard yesterday.

"I think it is fair to say that he has proven that he is as good as perfect for the job. It is no secret that the time he has put in has been very demanding, with regular commuting from Dublin to Thurles for training. But he has a great love for Tipperary hurling and a great bond with this squad."

Although Tipperary showed signs of fatigue on various occasions this summer, the general verdict is that they surrendered their All-Ireland after playing very well in what was an even classic that see-sawed until the end.

There is every reason to suggest Tipperary can regroup stronger next season and that may tempt English, the architect behind this squad, to stay on in charge.

Finally, the GAA has announced that all 8,500 Croke Park premium seats have been sold. The seats will remain unavailable until 2005, when the 10-year seats in the Cusack Stand and the five-year seats in the Hogan Stand will come up for resale.

Existing seat holders will get the first option. Because it is anticipated that the current holders may renew their options, a waiting list is now being recorded for those hoping to secure premiums seats in the future.

Suites in the Hogan and Cusack stands have also sold out. The Canal End suites for sale will be available from next week when an e-brochure will be circulated.