Updated 13:08
Westmeath GAA County committee were last night forced to issue a statement to address rumours their minor hurlers were withdrawn from the All-Ireland minor B championship due to a lack of jerseys.
Minor hurling manager Johnny Greville caused a stir on social media when he tweeted the bizarre reason for the team’s withdrawal.
Westmeath Minor Hurlers Withdrawn from All Ireland Minor B Champ,CB Reason-"We Don't have Any Jerseys to play in" #respectwestmeathhurling
— johnny greville (@GrevilleJohnny) July 21, 2015
This forced the committee to clarify “inaccuracies” discussed on Twitter and expected that everyone to "have their facts correct”.
The committee claims that Westmeath had never entered a team into the B championship, therefore the question of them pulling out of the competition is “disingenuous”.
Westmeath did concede that a set of jerseys did go missing after their semi-final exit at the hands of Dublin and that this was “unacceptable”, but were quick to praise the hard work of Greville, who they say has brought “a new dimension of professionalism” to the the side’s preparation.
There are currently eight teams preparing to compete in the All-Ireland Minor B championship: Kildare, Kerry, Roscommon, Meath, Wicklow, Armagh, Down and Donegal.
In the mean time,
Westmeath minor manager, Johnny Greville, has issued a statement as rebuttal to the"inaccuracies" the Westmeath county committee addressed last night.
The statement pertains to the supposed withdrawal of the Westmeath minor hurlers from the All-Ireland minor B championship because the team had "no jerseys to play in".
The saga took a fresh turn this morning, when Greville blasted the county board for lack of communication, stating; "I'm not equipped for mindreading!".
He issued the following statement:
Statement from Westmeath minor hurling manager Johnny Greville pic.twitter.com/4eHnVvB6yy
— Midlands103Sport (@MidlandsSport) July 21, 2015
A full copy of Westmeath's statement can be found below:
Westmeath GAA would like to take this opportunity to clarify matters as the items discussed on Twitter contain inaccuracies which require correction.
Westmeath GAA are very pleased with the progress made by Westmeath Minor Hurlers this year under the stewardship of Johnny Greville who has brought a new dimension of professionalism to the preparation of the team.
All of us were naturally disappointed that our team exited the Leinster Championship at the semi final stage but we do know that the base for progress is through the highest grade of championship proper.
To that extent, Westmeath GAA did not enter a Minor team in this years B Championship and this matter was discussed thoroughly through County Management Committee and the decision communicated accordingly.
Hence the question of us pulling out of a Championship that we did not enter is disingenuous and we are very disappointed with the manner in which this has arisen in the media through twitter today.
We appreciate that people become passionate about matters in which they believe strongly in but we do expect everyone to have their facts correct.
In relation to the matter of jerseys & appropriate gear for the Minor team and for all of our teams in both Hurling and Football, Westmeath GAA do like all our fellow County committees endeavour to fully support all the players who don our County Colours.
Certainly after the Leinster Minor Hurling Semi final, a set of Jerseys went missing which was unacceptable.
There has to be pride in wearing ones colours and we expect all players who represent Westmeath to have the pride in them to retain their colours at all times.
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