Antrim dual club Clooney Gaels have criticised their county board for forcing them to play two vital games in the space of 21 hours this weekend.
The Ahoghill-based club are set to take on last year's beaten All-Ireland finalists Cushendall in the opening round of the Antrim senior hurling championship this Saturday evening at 6.30pm before their footballing branch - known as St Mary's Ahoghill - face Aldergrove at 3pm on Sunday in the final round of the Division 1 league.
Sunday's game is a particularly high-stakes clash as Ahoghill need a four-point win in order to be sure of their survival in the top tier.
A request to change the game was made to the county's CCC but not agreed by Aldergrove and now 14 Ahoghill players are set to line-out in both games, according to football manager Paul Bradley, who questioned the board's decision when speaking to the The Irish News this week.
"14 players will start both games. We have a sub for hurling that will start for the footballers, and one of the footballers doesn't play hurling. That's it.
"Our chairman came to us two weeks ago and told us, and he has been pushing this with the county board since then. But we've been told we're two different clubs and that it won't be changed.
"We asked for the football not to be the next day. Portglenone's game has been moved to 7pm but we can't even get that done because Aldergrove won't agree to move it.
"From a player welfare point of view, playing two big matches in that short timeframe isn't what the GAA should be about."
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