Kerry vs Tyrone has been postponed this weekend and will now take place Saturday the 21st of August the evening before the Hurling All-Ireland final. Fears are growing from the Tyrone management and particularly country chairman Michael Kerry that there could be a possibility that they could pull out of the Championship completely and give Kerry a by to the final.
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County chairman Michael Kerr revealed that a request for a two-week postponement until the weekend of 28-29 August was turned down by Croke Park officials.
“This is about player welfare, and it’s clear that our players will not be ready to engage in a high-intensity championship game so soon after being directly affected by this virus,”
“The welfare of the players is paramount. The management will not be making a decision until this weekend on whether we will be capable of fulfilling the fixture.”
“We are grateful to have the opportunity to be able to field, but by the same token, disappointed that Croke Park have not given us sufficient time to prepare a proper challenge for Kerry.”
“They have decided that the final should be pushed no further back than Saturday, 4 September, but if something similar was to happen in the meantime to any of the two panels competing in the final, that date would disappear into the twilight as well.
“While we appreciate the postponement, which now allows us to be able to field a team, our request to have the match put back until the following weekend would have allowed us to be able to field a team that would be properly prepared and be in a position to do itself justice in an All-Ireland semi-final.
“We are grateful to have the opportunity to be able to field, but by the same token, disappointed that Croke Park have not given us sufficient time to prepare a proper challenge for Kerry.
“We are also conscious of the fact that the situation is not an ideal one for Kerry, and the uncertainty creates difficulties for their preparations for this important game.”