Waterford hurling star John Mullane has described the GAA's ticket prices as "shameful".

In an astonishing outburst, the De La Salle clubman also labelled the timing of the All-Ireland under 21 hurling championship a "disaster" for senior squad and the scheduling of Waterford's Munster SHC opener against Clare for 3pm on the June Bank Holiday Monday (June 7) as "ridiculous".

"It's absolutely ridiculous," he fumed at the launch of a new range of Puma products in Dublin yesterday.

"I was only talking to (Kerry footballer) Declan O'Sullivan there and they had the same scenario last year against Dublin. It's a crazy situation. The GAA are thinking of TV revenue but they are not thinking of the players.

"It's bad enough waiting around until Sunday but to wait around an extra day, you have to think of work then. You might have to take the Tuesday off because you are recovering from the game. It's a disaster really, but it is just something we have to get on with."

The former All-Star argued that the poor attendances at some championship matches are down to overpriced tickets.

"The ticket prices are absolutely crazy.

"You had the scenario last week with Waterford and Clare and asked people to pay €20 to go in and watch the football.

"It's Waterford and Clare now again next week (in the hurling) and you have €30 tickets. How are they enticing people to go out and support teams? For families it is quite difficult.

"The GAA is an amateur sport. Why don't they have amateur prices? The GAA is all about being family-orientated. Let's try and help families in a recession, instead of charging these prices."

The ace forward also claimed his side's preparations have been seriously hampered by the under 21 championship which begins just a few days earlier.

"The under 21s are out against Cork next Wednesday and preparation-wise, for us it is a total nightmare. We have eight or nine off the under 21 panel and we will have them one night and not the next. To try and play training matches, that is just a total disaster. They need to start looking at everything," he added. Tweet

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