“We have to do the right thing by our players… ultimately we’re putting them in an environment where it’s not safe.”
Tyrone manager Brian Dooher has called on GAA officials and health experts to get together and come up with re-worked guidelines for playing panels affected by positive Covid cases.
The Ulster champions have notified the Gaelic Athletic Association that they will be unable to field a senior team for the rescheduled All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry, next Saturday, as their player panel has been hit with multiple Covid-19 cases.
Dooher spoke with Off The Ball, this afternoon, and stressed that the county’s GAA Management Committee felt it had no other option but to inform the GAA of what is a most unfortunate decision. By delaying the game by just six days, Dooher believes many in the panel would not have sufficient time to recover from their tough bouts with the virus.
“In general,” said Dooher of his players, “they’ve all been affected by it.
“They haven’t been able to return to play as you would have expected them to. We had to take that into account… we’ve had to look at how long it takes to get athletes back performing again. It’s probably one thing [this situation] has highlighted, it’s the lack of work that’s going on in this area.”
UK guidelines of Covid state that there must be 17 days after the end of isolation, if one tests positive for Covid-19, before they can return to athletic activity.
Tyrone joint-manager Brian Dooher speaks to his players following a league game, back in May. (Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile)Some in GAA circles have pleaded with game officials at Croke Park to delay the game another week, until August 28. Dooher explained that such a case (for a later semi-final date) was already presented to the GAA before they settled on moving the game from August 15 to 21. “We’d ask the GAA to look at it again, surely,” said Dooher.
Asked if they could field a team in two or three weeks’ time, Dooher responded:
“Well, you’d definitely be in a better position. We have these boys ready to go through the return to play protocols, they just won’t be ready in time for next weekend.
“Because it is such a significant portion of our panel, that’s why we had to take this decision we took. We weren’t going to put the players into an un-safe environment. But in a weeks’ time, two weeks’ time, the picture changes, definitely.”
Dooher says he understands where the GAA are coming from, in trying to get the inter-county championships wrapped by early September. “It’s a very fluid environment out there,” he added, “and things are changing daily… Covid is there and it’s rife, and mad.”
He also symphatised with the Kerry players and coaches as the uncertainty over the game swirls around.
“It’s disappointing that it should finish this way, if that’s the way it does finish.”
