Kerry chief against on-pitch presentations

Kerry have lent their weight to the ongoing debate about post-match presentations at Croke Park.

Kerry County Board chairman Jerome Conway believes that the recent problems after the Kilkenny v Tipperary hurling final arose because of aggravation between supporters and stewards.

And he also suggests that the GAA's preferred option of on-pitch celebrations does not allow everyone in the ground a full view of the presentation.

Speaking of last Sunday's Kerry celebrations in the Irish Examiner, Conway said: 'My understanding is that the stewards opened the gates and there were no problems.

'The difficulty seems to arise when there is aggravation between supporters and stewards at the gates and people are jumping fences.'

The Kilkenny County Board are expected to lodge a formal complaint with Croke Park after allegations that some of their fans were assaulted by stewards as they tried to gain access to the pitch after their win over Tipp.

However, Conway was not impressed with the on-pitch presentation that took place after the Minor Football final, which was won by Armagh.

He added: 'I was interested to look at the minor presentation. I felt that only people in the Hogan Stand could see what was happening. If you were in the Cusack Stand you couldn't see anything.

'I'm not against the idea of presenting the trophy in the centre of the field, but if there is going to be an alternative it should be visible to everybody.'