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Hurling

"It's highly preferable that it would not be a scenario" | GAA on behind closed doors matches

The GAA won't be staging any inter-county matches until July because of the pandemic, and would r...



Hurling

"It's highly preferable that it would not be a scenario" | GAA on behind closed doors matches

The GAA won't be staging any inter-county matches until July because of the pandemic, and would rather avoid having to play matches behind closed doors.

Social distancing guidelines mean that mass gatherings of people are currently seen as too much of a risk to public health, and earlier this week Minister Simon Harris said that social distancing would be a 'part of life' until a vaccine is found for coronavirus.

The global crisis has led to the Premier League across the water considering whether to play matches behind closed doors in order to finish their season.

However, the GAA is a different body, a non-profit, largely voluntary organisation where supporters are the lifeblood of the games.

So would it culturally be acceptable for GAA matches to take place with no crowds?

The Association's Director of Communications Alan Milton spoke to Off the Ball's John Duggan on Newstalk Breakfast and he says playing matches behind closed doors is an option they are reluctant to countenance.

"I think if it comes down to having a scenario of having a Championship or no Championship, then I think it will require a different discussion. We are not there yet and I think the forum for these discussions will be Central Council. We have a Special Congress this Friday which will empower a small body, so what we are trying to do is ready ourselves to be in a position to make a call if and when that has to happen, but we are not there yet."

"The GAA Championships are built on the people who attend them, the colour, the fanfare, the takeover of provincial towns and indeed Croke Park when the games are staged there.

"I think it would lead to a very different conversation if people were asked, 'would you rather have a Championship at all or a Championship behind closed doors?' - That's a very different conversation and never one we've had to consider before to the best of my knowledge. I hope it's one we won't have to consider again, but I don't want to preempt whether or not it will become a topic of conversation and a decision point for the Association."

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