Damien Duff has castigated the GAA as 'dinosaurs' and 'a disgrace' in an impassioned interview with OTB AM on the Liam Miller testimonial issue.
The argument between the GAA and the organisers of the charity testimonial continues, as the organisation will not bend in allowing the match to take place at Páirc Uí Chaoimh due to their rules on 'foreign' sports. Miller died in February as a result of pancreatic cancer, and the match has received great support in Cork - his home town.
Duff, who played with Miller for the Republic of Ireland, came out strongly in defence of the organisers.
“I think it’s a disgrace.
“I think it’s Gaelic people, and whoever makes the decisions, saying that it is rule books and that they don’t have their AGMs until next February. It’s a load of crap. It’s archaic. It’s just dinosaurs making decisions. A young man has passed away who has left a young family behind, and all they are looking to do is play a game that will bring people together, firstly. A lovely occasion and will help Liam Miller’s family.
“I just find it disgraceful that they cannot open the gates of their stadium for one day. I think – I don’t know, I don’t read media or whatever – I’d like to think that is everyone’s feeling on it. But I find it a disgrace, and it is the same old dinosaurs in the GAA making the same old decisions.
Damien Duff - launching the #KeepieUppieChallenge for As I Am
Duff was not surprised by the decision and appeared exasperated at the GAA's decision to not relent.
“I am and I’m not [surprised by the decision]. You hear a lot about GAA people – yeah, I know that they opened Croke Park for the senior internationals years back – but it’s absolutely ridiculous. Like I said, it’s just a game of football. And that’s all I can call them – dinosaurs. They are hinting now that they might open doors. I don’t know – PR-wise it has been awful for the GAA, and rightly so.”
“Listen, even if they open the doors now and the game is played there, I still think they come out of it looking awful. So it’s a lose-lose for them now, and it serves them right. So... it makes my blood boil. I can only imagine how everyone on the committee feels about it as well. An absolute disgrace, but not really surprised.”
Damien Duff was helping the Autism Charity As I Am launch their new initiative - the Keepie Uppie Challenge - calling on members of the public to keep a ball in the air for as long as possible and to share the video on social media using the hashtag #KeepieUppieChallenge - to donate €4 to As I Am - you can text FOOTBALL to 50300.
All that and more on this morning's OTB AM live in association with Screwfix.ie, and as usual you can get your comments and thoughts into us on Facebook by following Off The Ball.
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Editor's note: Any media organisations looking to quote Damien's interview can credit 'OTB AM'.
