Sport

Off The Fence: RTÉ is getting a bit Tyrsome

Tiernan McCann has faced fierce criticism since reacting to Darren Hughes' grab at his hair in Croke Park
Tiernan McCann has faced fierce criticism since reacting to Darren Hughes' grab at his hair in Croke Park Tiernan McCann has faced fierce criticism since reacting to Darren Hughes' grab at his hair in Croke Park

IT’S been a quiet enough week on the GAA front, really.

Apart from Tyrone turning in a superb display, Donegal getting knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Mayo, Kilkenny reaching another All-Ireland final, and the thrilling minor hurling semi-final, there hasn’t really been much happening.

Except for, er, yer man McCann getting slapped with an 8-week ban.

The Off The Fence phone has had to be booked in for the hydropool in the hope that the steam will have dissipated by next Thursday.

The email inbox literally blew up (not literally). The text messages have been coming thick and fast since Sunday.

No-one is spared. Tyrone. Tiernan McCann himself. Monaghan. RTÉ. Darren Hughes. Marty Duffy. RTÉ. Paddy Heaney. Ciaran Whelan. RTÉ. Philip Jordan. Did I mention RTÉ?

Best to let the readers at it, so.

We’ll start in the heavily populated pro-Tyrone camp. The siege mentality that this will foster has stretched far beyond Mickey Harte’s changing room. An entire county feels besieged, and they aren’t afraid to let the world know.

‘Joe from Tyrone’ claimed that the punditry on RTÉ had conveniently overlooked the part Monaghan played in the scrappy end to Saturday’s game.

“Just a few points in relation to the continuing furore over Tyrone's perceived methods v Monaghan.

“Most of the instances referred to in RTÉ's montage of diving/cheating/sledging Tyrone were precipitated by actions of Monaghan players: Why did Darren Hughes "ruffle" Tiernan McCann's hair? Why did Conor McManus pull Ronan Mc Namee down on top of him when he had been already awarded a free? Why did Kieran Hughes continue needlessly into Connor Meyler's path after the ball had been played? Why did Paul Finlay take two "cheap shot" punches at Sean Cavanagh from behind when he was on the ground? Why did Conor McManus veer to the left to elbow Sean Cavanagh when the referee called him forward to take a free? In a word, provocation.

“In trying to fathom the actions of Tyrone players in the examples they used, RTE's Sunday Game pundits might consider starting at the start of the instances. If you had time and access to copious TV footage, it wouldn't be difficult to assassinate any team over the course of a match, using selective clips and a similar mindset. For the record, as a Tyrone man I think the playacting by Tiernan McCann was awful and should be completely removed from the game. This should warrant a straight red card, applied retrospectively if necessary.”

‘Louise from Tyrone’ was also vociferous in her protestations. Funny how all those defending Tyrone are from Tyrone.

Her main gripe (there were a lot of them) also lay with the national broadcaster’s coverage.

“The RTÉ panel were dismayed that Tyrone got involved in unnecessary stuff in the last 15 minutes, instead of pushing on to win the game. Were Monaghan not involved in this unnecessary stuff too? Why was there no comment on the fact that Monaghan lost their discipline and their shape when they realised the game was slipping away, and took their frustrations out on Tyrone? Did this not merit even the briefest of mentions?

“Furthermore, to drag up alleged incidents from Tyrone minor and seniors against Donegal and the U21s against Tipperary - allegations that have never been proven but have been very easily bandied about by RTE panellists and other journalists - is almost slanderous in its complete lack of objectivity.

“It is well documented why Tyrone no longer engage with RTE. Long may this last if the complete lack of impartiality continues during RTE footage of Tyrone games.

“God forbid this rotten to the core bunch of cynical men beat the football aristocrats of Kerry.”

A lengthy submission from ‘Tyrone Gael’, which we had to trim considerably in order to avoid needing an Off The Fence supplement, believes that RTÉ are losing ground to Sky Sports all the time.

“RTE have enjoyed many years of exclusive rights of the coverage of GAA and have made a significant contribution in it’s growth and the unprecedented popularity of its games but they now face stiff competition from Sky Sports who so far, from what I have seen, have offered a high quality package in terms of analysis, explanation of tactics, even humour - without the insults! Few if any, would disagree that overly defensive tactics reduce the game as a spectacle but the so-called blanket defence has its appeal in its effort, honesty, teamwork and tactics. Using terms like “puke” and “muck” do little in the way of explanation.

“It is worth noting that the previous history of Sky Sports success in making in-roads to a dominant position in their sports coverage is almost a hundred percent successful. RTÉ would do well to bear this in mind.

Well-articulated nonsense blended with paddy-wackery insults is still nonsense. It may have a perverse entertainment value for a while but only until something better comes along. Then unfortunately for RTE and all of us the ‘Bad Smell’ might be much nearer to home and harder to get rid of and that’s a scenario all of us would be rightly aggrieved about.”

Even within the RTÉ compound, there is a noticeable difference. Eddie Brennan on Sunday night brilliantly picked out TJ Reid fixing his helmet as the ball fell in front of him for Kilkenny’s goal. It was an incisive piece of analysis. The football punditry is laced instead with begrudgery, cliché and generalisation.

Former Dublin midfield general Ciarán Whelan came in for particular criticism after he suggested that Tyrone should offer an apology for the end-of-game shenanigans. ‘Square Ball 57’ wasn’t impressed.

“St. Ciaran’s outburst on RTE The Sunday Game, calling for apologies, he has the quare neck on him. I cannot remember Whelan or the Dublin County Board publicly apologizing for the thuggish manner in which he poleaxed Mayo’s Ronan McGarrity in the 2006 All-Ireland semi-final.

“Of course we also remember that same year Whelan was involved in the infamous "Battle of Omagh" league match with Tyrone, so evidently there is history and certainly no love lost between him and the Red Hands. “Clearly St. Ciaran and his side kick the Meath Messiah St. Colm and their call for CCCC intervention is out of order, typical "Anybody But Tyrone" RTÉ bias.

“What next, a call for the formation of an Historic Enquiries Team within the GAA? They could look at all past misdemeanours in their entirety including the Dublin and Meath teams off the 70s, 80s & 90s.”

It’s a wonder McGarrity doesn’t still have a headache from that tackle.

Our own Philip Jordan wasn’t spared either. Armagh fans were not going to let him forget 2003.

“I was just reading your paper today and what Philip Jordan said about simulation and diving. I just thought it was rich coming from him after he went down like he was shot in the 2003 All-Ireland final against Armagh, and got Diarmuid Marsden sent off. He’d need to practice what he preaches,” said one anonymous texter.

Then there’s Marty Duffy.

‘Former player and referee’ was on the blower soon after the weekend’s action to lambast the performance of the Sligo whistler.

“As a neutral I attended the Monaghan v Tyrone 'battle' on Saturday and I am puzzled why someone as incompetent as Marty Duffy is given charge of such a decisive game as an All-Ireland quarter final with so much at stake.

“I refereed dozens of championship games, mostly at club level, for 20 years and due to injury quit in my mid thirties at an age when most of today's referees are about to start their careers. During that time I also played hurling and football in three different provinces and I don't think I ever saw a poorer performance by a referee at inter-county level.

“I always considered control of the game to be the first essential with the safety of players being second. If a referee cannot control the game he cannot protect the players. The referee must establish control in the first seconds of the game and if lost control cannot be regained.

“Marty Duffy never established control of the match; instead he allowed it to develop from a shambles into a farce and ending in anarchy.

“When I first attended games in Croke Park most of the refs had two or three All-Ireland medals in their pockets. Today's refs don't seem to have played at any level so how do they know the niggly and nasty things that happen off the ball?”

As bad as ‘Sean from Down’s’ attempt at a joke is, the general point redeems his contribution.

“I was driving in Tyrone one day and got lost. I stopped at a garage and asked directions from the guy behind the counter. When he heard my accent he immediately threw himself on to the floor and rolled about, clutching his face.

“On a serious note, the ill discipline shown during the Tyrone-Monaghan game emphasises the need for the GAA to revise their disciplinary procedure; to my mind there is no need for black card, if a yellow card were to carry more weight.

“At present, a player can receive one yellow card in every competitive game in which he plays and will not receive a ban. If this was changed to 2 yellow cards in any competition leading to an automatic ban in the next competitive game, players and coaches might put greater emphasis on discipline and the need to avoid yellow cards for cynical play.

“The GAA should also follow soccer's lead whereby the more yellow cards a player receives, the longer the ban. If the GAA doesn't get the sanction right football won't be worth watching.”

The black card was never needed if the yellow card had been properly implemented. Conor Meyler’s offence was technically a black card offence, but it could be argued that Kieran Hughes’ step across his line merited one as well. For either to have been sent off for what an utterly harmless incident is wrong though.

And there is the all-divers-should-be-hung-at-dawn camp. ‘Barney’ believes that the Tiernan McCann incident was football plumbing to new depths.

“Gaelic ‘footballers’ diving is as low as the game can get. I put footballers in inverted commas because I am no longer seeing football being played, eighty per cent (and more) is hand ball, push ball - even into the net - and specialised throw ball. Please stop calling it football. Blanket defence is a media word, it is simply basketball defence. Call it for what it is and put a stop to the nonsense that is called Gaelic football. And of course the scratching flailing arms. Definition of Gaelic football: 'basketball played in a field by hens scratching for worms.' The only thing missing is the bounced pass.”

Old School Gael adds: “Yet again Mickey Harte insults the intelligence of the GAA public, expecting us to deny our own eyes and swallow conspiracy theories and hidden agendas. As suits Mickey’s stance on a range of issues, we are again depicted as media dupes, incapable of independent thought and interpreting what we see on the pitch for ourselves. I can assure Mickey that the outcry over Tyrone’s antics last Saturday began a full 24 hours before the airing of RTE’s Sunday Game.

“The answer to one of the questions posed by Mickey since, is yes, for a high proportion of Gaels, Tiernan McCann’s theatrics was the worst thing witnessed in Saturday’s game. While intolerable, striking and dirty play rank below sledging, diving and injury simulation in dishonouring the game. The latter are imported phenomena, which had been and ought to have remained alien to the culture of our games.

“A useful general rule of thumb should be, if it is anathema in hurling, it ought to be in football too. Calling into question the fair play record of players of a bygone era is a pathetic defence and attempt to shirk responsibility by the person best placed, in the long term, to regulate the conduct of players, the manager.”

My counter to all of this would be to advise you all to look at Walter Walsh’s attempts to win a free down in the corner for Kilkenny during the first half of Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling semi-final. Referee Brian Gavin waved play on (and from it Austin Gleeson scored a stunning point). A dive is a dive is a dive. Full expecting eight weeks for Walter to be announced later today….