GAA Director General Paraic Duffy has said that Croke Park officials don’t want to intervene in the Limerick hurling row, but urged the Treaty men to settle their differences before the NHL begins.
Limerick hurling is in meltdown following manager Justin McCarthy’s decision to drop 12 long-serving players from his panel in October.
A string of withdrawals have followed in protest, leaving McCarthy with only six of the panel that reached last year’s All-Ireland semi-final.
Duffy was quoted in the Examiner as saying: ‘We’d hope that it’s settled before the start of the league.
‘We don’t want a situation again where teams, a county, would obviously be fielding a weakened team. That doesn’t help the league.
‘But, for the moment, we’re still only in early January. For the moment we’ll leave it with Limerick and see what develops.’
Delegates recently voted to retain McCarthy despite the dispute but further player withdrawals has led to speculation that McCarthy may face a fresh vote of no confidence at next Tuesday night’s county board meeting.
‘At the moment this is a matter for Limerick,' continued Duffy. 'Christy (Cooney) spoke with Limerick earlier this week but in terms of getting involved, no, it’s something we’re very reluctant to do.
‘At the moment we’re seeing how this evolves. I think Limerick know our views, it would be nice if it was settled and settled very, very quickly.
‘But it’s primarily a matter for Limerick.’
