Antrim Football Thread

[Rasharkin Gael]

f**king joke if you ask me when the club wont defend people that where wrongly banned just so they can have their wee possy running round with their heads up their hole for another year

Club Agm was last week, why did you not stand up and voice your opinions there or run for one of the jobs on the committee ( wee possy) , people weren't exactly queuing up for them under the circumstances?

[optimus cheese]

Absolutely shocking. What message is the UC sending out with this?

[Rasharkin Gael]

Alter ego, best outcome for the club, for all those players who weren't even at slemish park. The events at ballymena are now part of a psni investigation so the consequences for those involved look severe. The fellas who carried out the violence have been identified and banned. What was the point in punishing over forty players who were not involved especially when the club cooperated fully with the investigation? You said yourself in an earlier post that the only way to deal with incidents like this is through the courts and that is exactly what is happening. As for your rant about club officials not trying to help Rm that is not correct. I was present and helped, along with a alot of the club committee. This was a shameful incident but it was wrong to punish the club as a whole so severely for the actions of half a dozen guys who were clearly identified and dealt with.       

[Magicsponge]

He makes a good point though, I can't imagine many ref's will be overly keen on Refereeing a rasharkin game.

The initial punishment was harsh on those not involved but this punishment is more or less the same as other clubs have got for just slabbering at a ref.

What about your u21 team for next year, are they allowed to play?

[Rasharkin Gael]

He makes a good point though, I can't imagine many ref's will be overly keen on Refereeing a rasharkin game.

The initial punishment was harsh on those not involved but this punishment is more or less the same as other clubs have got for just slabbering at a ref.

What about your u21 team for next year, are they allowed to play?

No u21 football next year, that ban still holds. Fine imposed on club as well.

[the colonel]

Just saw this on hoganstand......

James Loughrey believes Antrim's footballers can reach the dizzy heights of 2009 again.

The Saffrons contested an Ulster final two years ago and also put it up to Kerry in the Qualifiers and tenacious wing back Loughrey, who missed most of this year due to exam commitments, says Liam Bradley's charges can revisit those glory days.

The St Brigid's clubman is quoted in today's Irish News saying: "I think we're good enough to reach those heights again.

"Although the age profile of our squad is 23, 24, 25 and 26, we've been there for a while. We've got plenty of other things in our lives we could be getting on with but we all feel we can achieve.

"I hate harping back to 2009 but when you play the best teams in the country - like Tyrone and Kerry - you realise they're just a team playing football like us.

"With plenty of work, you can bridge the gap to the better teams.

"It's serious hard work, but gaelic football isn't a hard sport to play. I'm not particularly talented. All I am is very, very fit and have a decent pair of hands.

"I say to my mates all the time that it is a simple game when you compare it to hurling. It's one of the simplest games in the world.

"If you have a structured team and 25 to 30 fit boys who are committed to the cause, you can - with a bit of luck - do well."

[Rasharkin Gael]

"James Loughrey believes Antrim's footballers can reach the dizzy heights of 2009 again."

Not sure about that. We are seriously lacking in free scoring forwards either at senior or at u21 level. I think we can compete with most teams at midfield and our defence is reasonably sound but up front is a big problem.

[Mickey Linden]

Alter ego, best outcome for the club, for all those players who weren't even at slemish park. The events at ballymena are now part of a psni investigation so the consequences for those involved look severe. The fellas who carried out the violence have been identified and banned. What was the point in punishing over forty players who were not involved especially when the club cooperated fully with the investigation? You said yourself in an earlier post that the only way to deal with incidents like this is through the courts and that is exactly what is happening. As for your rant about club officials not trying to help Rm that is not correct. I was present and helped, along with a alot of the club committee. This was a shameful incident but it was wrong to punish the club as a whole so severely for the actions of half a dozen guys who were clearly identified and dealt with.       

U do make some decent points Rasharkin Gael. However, I believe Antrim football has once again became the laughing stock of Ulster over this. If they are serious about protecting the welfare of referees they must take a firm stand, particularly given the widespread coverage this brutal attack received at the time.
I know like in most cases like this it is the ordinary fella who just wants to play football that gets punished but if I was a referee I would be refusing to referee any Rasharkin games next year. I cant see how else the Antrim county board can send out a message of zero tolerance on the abuse of referees.

[Magicsponge]

Alter ego, best outcome for the club, for all those players who weren't even at slemish park. The events at ballymena are now part of a psni investigation so the consequences for those involved look severe. The fellas who carried out the violence have been identified and banned. What was the point in punishing over forty players who were not involved especially when the club cooperated fully with the investigation? You said yourself in an earlier post that the only way to deal with incidents like this is through the courts and that is exactly what is happening. As for your rant about club officials not trying to help Rm that is not correct. I was present and helped, along with a alot of the club committee. This was a shameful incident but it was wrong to punish the club as a whole so severely for the actions of half a dozen guys who were clearly identified and dealt with.       

U do make some decent points Rasharkin Gael. However, I believe Antrim football has once again became the laughing stock of Ulster over this. If they are serious about protecting the welfare of referees they must take a firm stand, particularly given the widespread coverage this brutal attack received at the time.
I know like in most cases like this it is the ordinary fella who just wants to play football that gets punished but if I was a referee I would be refusing to referee any Rasharkin games next year. I cant see how else the Antrim county board can send out a message of zero tolerance on the abuse of referees.

Why have we become the laughing stock of ulster if it was the Ulster Council that overturned the ban after an appeal.

[Rasharkin Gael]

"I believe Antrim football has once again became the laughing stock of Ulster over this"

Dont agree with this at all. The individual suspensions handed out by antrim ccc must be the more severe in my memory. Compared to the sanctions in Tyrone and Sligo Antrim CCC decisions were much more robust.

[Mickey Linden]

Alter ego, best outcome for the club, for all those players who weren't even at slemish park. The events at ballymena are now part of a psni investigation so the consequences for those involved look severe. The fellas who carried out the violence have been identified and banned. What was the point in punishing over forty players who were not involved especially when the club cooperated fully with the investigation? You said yourself in an earlier post that the only way to deal with incidents like this is through the courts and that is exactly what is happening. As for your rant about club officials not trying to help Rm that is not correct. I was present and helped, along with a alot of the club committee. This was a shameful incident but it was wrong to punish the club as a whole so severely for the actions of half a dozen guys who were clearly identified and dealt with.       

U do make some decent points Rasharkin Gael. However, I believe Antrim football has once again became the laughing stock of Ulster over this. If they are serious about protecting the welfare of referees they must take a firm stand, particularly given the widespread coverage this brutal attack received at the time.
I know like in most cases like this it is the ordinary fella who just wants to play football that gets punished but if I was a referee I would be refusing to referee any Rasharkin games next year. I cant see how else the Antrim county board can send out a message of zero tolerance on the abuse of referees.

Why have we become the laughing stock of ulster if it was the Ulster Council that overturned the ban after an appeal.

Ultimately the buck stops with the Gaels of Antrim to put a stop to this. I firmly believe it is still in the hands of the county board to put a stop to this.

What would happen if all the referees in Antrim came out and agreed that they would not referee any game involving Rasharkin next year in support of their collegue? For me that would send out the correct signal to the rest of Antrim and indeed Ulster.

THis is not a personal attack on Rasharkin btw. I just feel that the way these suspensions get overturned is blackening the name of our organisation.

Whats the whole point in issuing such bans in the first place? Is it merely a publicity stunt to weather the eye of the storm?

[Rasharkin Gael]

ml, i do agree with you to some extent. There was an article this week in Gaelic Life were Liam Peoples stated that Derry had five assults on referees this season. The only answer in the short term is for clubs to name and shame these people and for the courts to deal with them. For too long we have been backward in naming individuals from within our clubs who carry out these acts, and letting them escape criminal prosecution, but if we were honest and forthright with the legal system it would soon put an end to this. In the long term , abuse and violence is a much wider social issue which we in the Gaa cannot solve without a sea change in social attitudes.

[Mickey Linden]

I do agree RG that this is perhaps a reflection on wider society as a whole.
However, if an outsider was looking in would they come to the conclusion that ultimately there is something wrong with the entire GAA community that we are unable to take a stand against this?
Once again another chance for the GAA to be shown that it will no longer stand for vicious attacks on our officals has been wasted.
The Ulster Council has also set a dangerous preceedent and as long as these bans keep getting overturned their will remain to be something fundamentally wrong in our games.   

[rashCharacter]

An outsider looking in should come to the conclusion that if you assault a GAA referee then you can expect to be expelled from the organisation and your name given to the police.

[imtommygunn]

Matthews quit according to bbc news. Not good.