Things go from bad to worse the Down Co Board

[Joxer]

From Hoganstand.com

Things have gone from bad to worse for Down after they were hit with fines totalling EUR5,500 for breaches of match-day regulations arising out of last Sunday week's Ulster SFC defeat to Fermanagh.

The Mourne County was fined EUR1,400 for including Benny Coulter and Peter Fitzpatrick in their starting XV after they weren't included in the 30-man squad for the game. They were also hit in the pocket for not starting the 15 players named in the programme, meaning they were effectively fined twice for similar offences.

Down were fined another EUR700 for being late out of the dressing room before the game and for the start of the second half. On top of this, they were fined a further EUR1,000 for incursions onto the pitch by water carriers at times which were deemed not to be breaks in play.

[boojangles]

That kind of shit sickens my arse.Thats administration gone crazy.Counties get it hard enough these days without forking out for hefty fines like that.I don't buy the argument that these things should b done right,its an amateur game so mistakes are going to happen.f**king pitch incursions-Go and f**k yourself. If a man wants water,give him water.
The same shit is happening in club Championships.Clubs fined for a lad wearing wrong shorts or socks.Where the f**k do they think they are.Are the County Boards gonna fork out for shorts or socks.Makes my blood boil.

[Maximus Marillius]

The Ulster council need to take a real good look at themselves. Last Sunday they werre charging children either £20 to get a seated ticket or £13 pounds to get a terrace ticket...now we hear this shite about the amount of money they are taking from Co.Down. An amateur game my arse...the more I see and hear the less it is amateur. The guardians of our game are all about money so why are we shocked to hear that it prevelant at club level.

[full back]

The leaving the dressing room late & water fines are sh1te, but surely the fcuk a paying patron deserves to know the team starting.
A county board are bound to be able to put the correct jerseys on players

[Trevor Hill]

They county board deserve all they get. They are the ones keeping Ross and DJ in a job. I cannot figure out which is the more inept, the county management or the county board?

[laoisgaa]

The Ulster council need to take a real good look at themselves..................now we hear this shite about the amount of money they are taking from Co.Down

As far as I'm aware the money goes to Croke Park. The one thing to remember about all of these fines be it national, county or club - it's all money that stays within the GAA at the end of the day so while taking on board earlier points re amateur status etc it's not the end of the world.

Last year Down County Board was fined 250 quid for not having the dressing rooms ready for Armagh and London hurlers due to a Football challenge v Cork before hand and the hurling game starting 38 minutes late.

I think the match day regulations fines were put in place to help the presentation of our games and it was expected things would be tidied up but this still hasn't happened for some counties - money being forked out which could be used for other stuff - but it's not always the County Boards fault in these situations either.

[tyrone86]

I presume these are for last year considering the Official Guide has been updated this year - but this should give you the general idea

www.gaa.ie/files/official_guides/match_regulations_12may.doc

[YogiBear]

The fines are justified as far as I am concerned, there are rules in place and they must be followed. Not naming the correct team and subs in the programme is just plain stupid and serves no purpose whatsoever.  If we go down the Ross Carr route we might as well have no programmes at all. It just highlights his lack of respect for the Down fans.  The pitch incursions may seem a bit harsh but the rules are clearly explained to the management team before each game so there cannot be any excuses.  Not leaving the changing rooms on time is another stupid move by the management if you have prepared your team properly why would you need any extra few minutes in the changing rooms, again pointless.  I think it shows the arrogance of the current Down set up ( I include everyone in that from managers, players, county board officials and water boys) that they think they can continually break the rules.

[orangeman]

Long gone are the days when you named the team on Thursday night, it appeared in the IN the next day, you turned up for the match on the bus, wnet in and got changed, played the game and went home again.


There's so much bullshit now involved. So many personnel to be accomodated - it's like a circus round Clones on match day !
GAA is a massive industry and the GAA are cashing in.

[SouthDownHero]

Whilst it in monetary terms it may seem steep the rules are there for a reason. Every county board in the county knows what they are. The reason the fine is so expensive is because the previous fines were not working. Teams and counties continously flout them and the only course of action is to raise them to a level where they actually become a deterrent. Patrons paying for tickets deserve to know what the team will be when the pay for a programme. I accept there can always be last minute injuries etc but Down in recent years have shown a blatant disregard for this. It is particuarly annoying when we cant get the first 30 players included. Whether its a tactical ploy or not this should not have been allowed to happen and as far as i am aware the management over ruled the Officers from the board who indicated what the consequences. Running a county team is expensive enough without incurring fines!

Typical arrogance from this management set up as the have incurred numerous fines over their tenure. if it continues to happen they should be made to pay a percentage of the fine!

[ONeill]

Down were fined another EUR700 for being late out of the dressing room before the game

He was also fined for keeping that side he picked out on the field.

[bigpaul]

I could never understand why people are so fixated with teams being named on a Thursday. If I was a manager I would try to hid something from the opposition if I could. However, I think it is unforgivable not to have players wearing numbers that are listed in the match programme!