Confusion over county player availability reigns as Mayo LGFA club concedes game

APART from Westport's big win over Knockmore, the biggest story from the Mayo LGFA leagues this weekend emerged from the fixture that didn't take place at all.

MacHale Rovers conceded their fixture against Castlebar Mitchels in Division One. The club did not want to comment on the issue.

But it's safe to assume that the decision to concede was influenced by the fact that senior county players Sinéad Walsh, Kayla Doherty and Charlie Reilly-Benson weren't available for club action this weekend.

It also didn't help MacHale Rovers that Annie Gough recently tore her ACL and will be out for the foreseeable future.

The Mayo News understands that the Mayo LGFA county board executive received communication from the senior inter-county players last Tuesday, requesting to not make them available for club games at the weekend.

Subsequently, at a scheduled county board meeting Thursday evening, the executive put a proposal forward, to declare senior inter-county players not available for the weekend’s league fixtures.

Needing to respond to the players correspondence, the executive proposed a motion to put a star on the league round.

At that stage, rounds two, three and five were declared starred rounds, which means Mayo players wouldn't be available for their clubs. 

However, it seems the need to prepare collectively for their upcoming Connacht championship final against Galway could have led to second thoughts among Mayo players.

The Mayo LGFA executive tried to gauge the mood in other counties and conducted research ahead of the county board meeting.

According to them, there is much less expectations in other counties by clubs, to have their inter-county players available for league matches. 

With that information in mind, the executive proposed to put a star on the league round for the weekend.

The clubs didn't have much time for consideration, and when it came to a vote, the necessary two-thirds majority was missed.

Based on this outcome, senior players were expected to play for their clubs at the weekend.

Mayo players then communicated the collective decision to not play this round to their club managers.

Incidents like this are not new to league proceedings. It happened in previous years, according to Mayo LGFA.

It should be noted that the league structure was revamped this year and a new league structure with groups of eight teams was created.

The system of starred rounds was supposed to give everyone involved clarity of rules. 

On the other hand, league fixtures are more condensed this year, with the aim of finishing the competition before the inter-county All-Ireland championship starts. The Memorial League, which usually takes place early in the year, was suspended this season.