GAA president Larry McCarthy unhappy with 'cowardly' criticism of players by critics and supporters

GAA president Larry McCarthy has urged restraint in comments and analysis of the association's amateur players, describing some commentary by critics as "cowardly".

In a statement released by the association this morning, McCarthy revisited words voiced during his inauguration speech last February after the aftermath of the All-Ireland football final.

It comes days after Mayo issued an update on events after the loss to Tyrone.

"Words matter, what one says matters, what one puts in the public domain matters," said McCarthy.

"This was a point I made at Congress in February 2021 in the context of, what Bob Costas calls 'a corrosive assault on civility'. That corrosive assault has been perpetuated recently by members of the 'critics collective', and by many people who term themselves supporters in their reaction to the All-Ireland football final.

"The criticism emanating from these people has been overly harsh, unfair and in some cases downright cowardly. It has gone well beyond fair analysis of team performance.

"Critical evaluation of match performance is fine, and expected, but overly-harsh scrutiny of amateur players is unjustifiable. It is inexcusable when it moves beyond the realm of what happens on the field."

The GAA president also said he was surprised by the level of discord directed at players that some critics claim to support.

"It beggars belief that people who consider themselves supporters of a team would castigate members of that team, the management and the county committee in a crude and, in some cases, personal fashion," he said.

"Nobody sets out to play badly, nobody sets out to lose an All-Ireland, but it happens. Supporters, who are members of GAA clubs, who attend club games, and who know the commitment and sacrifice the players make, understand this. Unfortunately, it is a point that seems to have escaped far too many people in the last week.

"Stop unwarranted critiques of GAA members. Stop this corrosive assault on civility. Perspective is needed when commenting on games and sport in general – not least when players are amateurs.

"None of us know the long-lasting impact of this type of harsh criticism on amateur players and we need to be mindful of the positive mental health of others."