Galway footballer Adrian Varley is set to be denied the opportunity of captaining his club in a championship semi-final due to Covid regulations.
In a statement released by Cortoon Shamrocks GAA club, the Galway club sought to explain why their Intermediate semi-final with Dunmore McHales had been postponed on Sunday, September 20th.
It outlined that primary school teacher and club captain Adrian Varley was informed of a close contact with a student who had tested positive for coronavirus on the morning of the game.
The game was subsequently postponed to avoid any potential spread of the virus.
Despite recording a negative test, Cortoon Shamrocks stated that Varley would be required to wait two weeks from his last contact with the student (Wednesday, September 16th) before being available to play.
Given the circumstances of his absence, the Galway club expected that their semi-final would be rescheduled for no earlier than Wednesday, September 30th; the first day at which Varley was available.
Much to their dismay, Cortoon Shamrocks are due to take on Dunmore McHales on Sunday, September 27th without their captain.
Statement from Cortoon Shamrocks GAA Club regarding clarification of last weekends Intermediate semi final postponement.https://t.co/s1xza0lfZ5
— Cortoon Shamrocks (@CortoonShamrock) September 25, 2020
"When we were informed of the rescheduled fixture," the statement reads, "we requested a meeting with the County Board and Dunmore representatives to seek a resolution which would allow for our player to take part in the fixture taking into consideration that he acted in line with all recommendations laid down by the HSE.
"This meeting took place [on] 24th September. Unfortunately, the Dunmore McHales representative would not under any circumstances agree to the fixture being moved back by 3 days to Wednesday 30th September to allow the player to take part.
"As an agreement couldn’t be reached between the two clubs, the Galway County Board insisted that the game must proceed this Sunday 27th September."
Arguing that there is no necessary reason why the game must be played off this weekend, Cortoon highlighted the behaviour of their player and how this corresponded with what the GAA promotes in its members.
"Adrian has acted with the utmost honesty and integrity since being informed of the news last Sunday morning," it stated. "As a teacher he is performing an essential service for the public and he can now not take part in Sunday’s game having trained since last November to try and captain his team to a county final.
"Outlined on the GAA website under mission, vision and values, there are words mentioned such as “player welfare”, “respect”, “opportunity to participate fully”.
"Our club has had player welfare to the forefront of all decisions we have made but we feel we have not been treated with respect and our player has not been given the opportunity to participate which goes totally against the bedrock of the GAA organisation.
"We ask the County Board and the Dunmore McHales Club to reconsider their position given the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the pandemic and in the interest of fair play."
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