the_watcher that is one approach though I assume that you never played out at Mossley at that rate or else if you did you left the Kit bag at home that day:) Referee of little protection out there!

Naysayer (Antrim) - Posts: 2071 - 27/01/2015 21:14:32    1687204

royaldunne
County: Meath
Naysayer, what in your opinion is sectarian or racist abuse?? Just wondering. Through my many many years attending gaa matches against ulster opposition the worst i have heard was something along the line of nordie so and so. Surely while not nice or pc you can hardly call it racial???
I mean are ulster teams now considering themselves to be a different race??

You don't need to be considered a different race to suffer sectarian abuse. What happened to...

royaldunne
No room for sectarianism in any organization or for that matter in a civilized society.

I don't think the Monaghan player considered himself a different race. Is the acceptibility of sectarianism based on who's perpetrating it? Or who the victim is? Do you really think Northern teams haven't been the subject of similar abuse when they played down south, at least from the crowd (probably a very small drunken minority, but nevertheless). If we're going to have zero tolerance of racist/sectarian abuse, we can't be a la carte about it.

Marlon_JD (Tipperary) - Posts: 1823 - 27/01/2015 21:22:31    1687209

I feel sorry for Drew Wylie.I don't know the guy or anything about him other than he's a top class player. Now he has to put up with all this unwanted attention (which I know I'm contributing to!) when I'm sure all he wants to do is focus on his football.

stanley (None) - Posts: 434 - 27/01/2015 21:24:45    1687210

Very good point stanley - guilty here also.

Naysayer (Antrim) - Posts: 2071 - 27/01/2015 21:31:08    1687214

supermon
County: Monaghan
Posts: 671

1687104
Lads put it this way, 30 years of trouble here in ireland wasn't caused by red hair or weight issues. It's a particularly sensitive subject that can divide a community and if left unchecked could cause division in the GAA. I remember a story not so long ago of a GAA club player in Fermanagh walking away because of said abuse.



Cavan_Slasher
County: Cavan
Posts: 9630

1687154
Are yis all mad?
Cavan will not drop their best midfielder.
He has been given the maximum punishment possible and has also apologised.
He was a fool but the selectors aren't.
You won't get blood lads.

2 above posts are both excellent & correct!

Monaghan Exile (Monaghan) - Posts: 442 - 27/01/2015 21:41:44    1687220

25th May. Breffni. All welcome

mhunicean_abu (Monaghan) - Posts: 1044 - 27/01/2015 21:59:00    1687231

Never played in Mossely Naysayer, the time that happened it was in Bangor. But i do recall playing a game in 'the diamond' in rathcoole, but at that stage i had ditched the GAA bag for a nice plain black Nike one that kept the stinking boots at the bottom and away from the playing gear, thats the only reason i changed to that kit bag, honest.... lol

the_watcher (Antrim) - Posts: 128 - 28/01/2015 09:13:05    1687248

As a clubmate of Drew's I found it very annoying that the President didn't see fit to actually mention Drew's name in the apology. "The player involved" smacks of indifference.

The Face (Monaghan) - Posts: 890 - 28/01/2015 09:17:02    1687251

joncarter
County: Galway
I still say that knocking somenoes teeth out is worse than racially abusing them. If racial abuse results in a harsh penalty, so should incapacitating them. (Sorry guys, that's just how I feel).


I agree with your second sentence but not the first one. Of course anyone who puts a fellas teeth out should be dealt with seriously but after years in the game I have come to realise that any player can fall victim to a bit of fisticuffs, its a physical game and tensions are often raised through the roof. Most players shake hands and swap shirts even after the ugliest of games. However, if a player goes out of his way to start taunting his opponent with sectarian abuse then there is obviously some deep routed hatred that cant be excused as a heat of the moment act. This kind of abuse makes things personal and should be considered more serious than physical abuse given those circumstances.

SaffronDon (Antrim) - Posts: 2386 - 28/01/2015 09:34:29    1687259

Stormcrow you are correct when you say that all abuse is reprehensible. However if you cannot see that there is a hierarchy of abuse and that sectarian/racist abuse is at the top of that hierarchy then you need to ask yourself serious questions.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 28/01/2015 10:36:44    1687282

Although sectarian abuse is not acceptable, at least an apology was given. However it really isn't on that a brillaint player like Drew Wylie had to suffer this abuse. I agree with other posters that more severe bans for sometihng written on titter makes no sense.

JimTheLegend (Donegal) - Posts: 247 - 28/01/2015 12:47:03    1687332

is "the Cavan Player" the first player to be banned under this rule ?.
Why does the GAA think the rule is insuffient ?
Why did they think the rule was OK when they made the rule ?
What has changed in the interim to make them think that the rule is not now sufficient.

These are the questions I want to ask on here but so far have not been allowed to post.
not sure what is wrong with asking this or what way to phrase it , to make it acceptable.

There are other questions too that I need to ask and points I want to make.

such as: is there a different rule for Sledging throughout the game (i.e. an attempt to unsettle a player by abusing him) during the course of the game) and a remark made only once in the heat of the moment in reaction to an incident (as I believe was the case here)

No one should infer by any of my posts re this that I am saying one way or another whether the red card and subsequent ban were proportionate or not, neither should anyone infer or come to the conclusion that I think sectarian abuse or any verbal abuse relating to any aspect of an individual which they themselves cannot change, is acceptable.
I am not giving my opinion or giving my views on any of this, I am merely asking factual questions.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5518 - 28/01/2015 17:06:37    1687463

SaffronDon
County: Antrim
Posts: 106

However, if a player goes out of his way to start taunting his opponent with sectarian abuse then there is obviously some deep routed hatred that cant be excused as a heat of the moment act. This kind of abuse makes things personal and should be considered more serious than physical abuse given those circumstances.

Just for the record, this is not what happened in this particular case. He should have received a lengthier suspension, but he has apologised. I think this is a very unfair portrayal of the incident. I wasn't there but by all accounts it was a heat of the moment reaction to a bad foul by Wylie. Doesn't excuse it, but does put it in its proper context.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12121 - 28/01/2015 17:15:55    1687473

s goldrick
County: Cavan

In your opening post, you said the following:

s goldrick
I find this line extradordinary from Liam O' Neill
"I've often said that the mark of an organisation is how you deal with it when it happens. We had the rule, he was sent off correctly. We find out the rule wasn't adequate. We're quite prepared to immediately address that."

Why did you find this line extraordinary?

Marlon_JD (Tipperary) - Posts: 1823 - 28/01/2015 17:23:55    1687478

Marlon_JD
County: Tipperary
Posts: 1042

1687478

s goldrick
I find this line extradordinary from Liam O' Neill
"I've often said that the mark of an organisation is how you deal with it when it happens. We had the rule, he was sent off correctly. We find out the rule wasn't adequate. We're quite prepared to immediately address that."

Why did you find this line extraordinary?

sorry Marlon, I have tried to answer that question before in a very dignified and sensible way put my post wasn't put up.
I will try and answer it in a less concise way..

why did they not realise the rule was inadequate before.
what made the rule adequate when they made it.
what makes it inadequate now.

I mean, I could go in to longer explaination as to why I find that sentence extraordinary but I would probably be wasting my energy.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5518 - 28/01/2015 18:53:12    1687504

Marlon_ JD

You make an excellent point.

I don't know what Liam O'Neill is bleating about. His statement is worthy of a politician.
Ulster teams are and have been the target of sectarian comments and/or abuse for a long time.
As a child I witnessed Cavan and Antrim supporters getting sectarian abuse in 1969 in Croke Park when Antrim won the U-21 All-Ireland
and Cavan drew with Offaly in the Senior Semi-Final. To a vocal minority we were fair game because we were from Ulster.
Down through the years we've had incidents just like Marlon J_D said but the GAA didn't seem to notice.
Now they try to do a spin on the affair.

I detest racial and sectarian comments and that includes the recent incident.
But the offender apologised to the offended player there and then and they shook hands. In the absence of realistic guidelines from
the GAA itself what else are we to do? I see people getting all righteous in themselves. I can see a media frenzy before the two teams meet
in the Ulster Championship in May. There's a fair amount of hypocrisy floating about this week.

RoyalBlue2 (Cavan) - Posts: 198 - 28/01/2015 20:19:13    1687535

The only thing that matters is the guy apologised and the other person accepted, the rest is just playing to the gallery by the GAA.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4897 - 28/01/2015 20:50:01    1687546

Greengrass,

It's not at the top of the ladder of abuse at all but near the top. All verbal abuse is serious but some more serious.
Abusing special needs people, children, the elderly or infirm is miles ahead in my opinion.
Plus the make up of the abused person has a lot to do with it too. A strong minded person might laugh at it but it could do serious damage to a weak minded person.

No abuse is acceptable though.

Cavan_Slasher (Cavan) - Posts: 10253 - 28/01/2015 20:55:48    1687551

Arock, well said. Wylie and Gearoid would rather get on with it and play football which they both can do. Roll on 24th May!!!!

cavan97 (Cavan) - Posts: 369 - 29/01/2015 10:50:55    1687631

Will the pressure of this have an affect on Gearoid in the foreseeable future??

Wylie must be commended the way he has conducted himself throughout this saga!

BigJohn.6_8 (Galway) - Posts: 704 - 29/01/2015 11:37:38    1687653