Paraic Duffy concedes that scheduling an American football match in Croke Park tomorrow "has backfired".

The scheduling of Saturday's match between Penn State and UCF at the height of the GAA championship season has resulted in the Kerry V Mayo All-Ireland semi-final replay being fixed for Limerick. Not ideal, admits the Árd Stiúrthóir, but a risk worth taking...

"The decision to fix the American football game for this Saturday has backfired, but I felt it was a reasonable risk to take. It worked against us this time. I wish it hadn't happened, but it did and that is life," the Monaghan man says in The Irish Examiner.

"The point I would make in relation to this weekend is this American football game was arranged 18 months ago. We were aware at the time that you could end up in this situation, the law of averages indicated that it was unlikely because in the last 28 years, and of the 56 All-Ireland football semi-finals played, only four have ended in a draw.

"We felt it was a reasonable risk to take. We also realised if it was necessary to play an All-Ireland semi-final outside Croke Park, we had the venues available, like Limerick.

"People can talk about corporate GAA or financial greed, but the reality is Croke Park has to fund the development of the GAA and we have to be prepared to take such decisions. We are about to undertake two huge developments with regard to the stadia in Cork and Belfast which will mean a huge undertaking of financial resources."

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