Rows "a reality of contact sport" - GPA

November 24, 2015

The Galway players warm up before the Fenway Classic.
©INPHO/Emily Harney.

GPA spokesman Sean Potts doesn't expect any players to be sanctioned following the Fenway Hurling Classic brawl.

A crowd of more than 27,000 watched on at the iconic Boston stadium on Sunday as the hurlers of Dublin and Galway got stuck into each other, but Potts believes the CCCC won't be taking action:

"Rows happen in games at home, at club and intercounty level. They're not frequent, but they're a reality of a contact sport," he says in The Irish Times. "It was dealt with in context, three players were sin-binned and I would expect that to be the end of it. This format is useful for trialing new things such as the sin bin, which was used on Sunday.

"The row was noted in the context of the occasion, but it didn't overshadow the event and I think that's because in a city like Boston they're used to occasional flare-ups in games like ice hockey and baseball.

"This is a contest and teams prepare for it as they would an inter-county game at home. Okay, it's a different format, but players see this as a proper battle and that was reflected in how competitive the game was.

"This was a physical game, as you would expect at intercounty level, and the players were pumped. This was not an exhibition or a friendly, but a competitive game. The players realised that they had a chance to showcase our game and they wanted to do that properly by ensuring it was competitive.

"The row shows how intense the players were and that they brought a level of competitiveness to the game."


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