Antrim GAA to meet to discuss potential ‘match fixing’ allegations

Worrying news.

The Antrim county board have confirmed that they are to meet to discuss allegations surrounding one of their Allianz Hurling league clashes earlier this month. It was reported earlier this week by the Irish News and the Antrim Post that Antrim players may have placed bets on the Saffrons clash with London in Ruislip on Sunday March 20th. Antrim lost the game to the Exiles by 1-21 to 1-19, which almost propelled the English outfit to a league final, but they missed out due to better results for Carlow and Westmeath who last weekend contested the Divison 2A finale. However this week the Antrim Post reported that the game was going to be the focus of an investigation, after an allegation that Antrim players may have bet on their side to lose the game. https://twitter.com/AntrimPost/status/714507740396302342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw The Irish News claim that: "rumours of a match fixing scandal have been rife since London hurlers beat Antrim in the National Hurling League earlier this month". Antrim county board chairman Collie Donnelly told the Irish News that they had no received any concrete reports of any illegality around the game, but the county board will meet next week to discuss the issue.

"The county board at this stage has nothing substantive. We will be meeting with senior hurling management team and we will be dealing with it to bring some closure to it and move forward."

The GAA takes a very dim view of players betting on games they are involved in, with the Donegal squad the most high-profile team embroiled in a mini-scandal after Jim McGuinness admitted his squad backed themselves to beat Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final in 2014 and won a considerable amount of money as a result.