Cork’s footballers say they will only play their Munster Football Championship Clash with Kerry in Páirc uí Rinn.
A meeting of the players and management took place last night, with a statement released afterwards saying that they will only play the game at Páirc uí Rinn, and not in Killarney or any other venue.
With Páirc uí Chaoimh unavailable for the game due to the Ed Sheeran concerts taking place at the venue, the game had been fixed for Páirc uí Rinn.
However the Munster CCC moved the game on May 7th to Fitzgerald Stadium this week, saying that Páirc uí Rinn's capacity was too small for the game.
In the statement issued last night the Cork players say the decision must be reversed, and that the decision to move to game to Killarney was driven by the “financial benefits resulting from the crowd”.
The statement concludes by saying that they are preparing for the game to be played in Páirc uí Rinn, and they will not be playing the match in any other venue.
The statement in full reads:
“As players and management our sole focus is on preparing and playing to the best of our ability next month in the Munster Championship, representing our families, our clubs and our county. We did not envisage needing to issue this statement.
“Cork and Kerry have long had an agreement in place to decide home and away fixtures. This year’s fixture is a home game for Cork, as initially announced in a press release by Munster GAA on the 4th of March.
“We believe the decision made this week by the Munster Council must be reversed.
“The decision to take the game to Killarney is driven by the financial benefits resulting from a larger crowd. We feel this reasoning sets a bad precedent, it is wrong and it goes against the values of the Gaelic Athletic Association.
“As such, we are preparing for the Munster Football Semi-Final on 7 May 2022 to be played in Páirc Uí Rinn.
“We will not be playing the match in any other venue.
"Regards,
“The Cork Senior Football Players & Management”
