GAA hit back at Jim McGuinness after venue complaints

He feels Donegal's woes weren't exclusive to them.

Donegal defeated Mayo with a narrow one-point, 0-19 to 1-15, victory in their final All-Ireland SFC round-robin fixture. The win at Dr Hyde Park, in Roscommon, confirmed the Tír Conaill men's spot in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals.

The decision to play the game at the neutral venue in Roscommon frustrated many from Donegal, and none more so than manager Jim McGuinness.

McGuinness lashed out at the GAA on the decision to have the game at Dr Hyde Park after full-time. He felt the difference in distance travelled for his side to the venue compared to what Mayo had to endure was unfair.

Roscommon and Central Competitions Control Committee chairperson, Brian Carroll, has now come out to defend the GAA for choosing the venue. Carroll noted that Donegal's travel issues weren't exclusive to them.

He said: "People in Mayo had to travel just short of three hours as well, so it wasn't ideal for both, but there are a lot of things that have to be taken into consideration.

"When we’re doing these fixtures and when you have the most northerly county and a western county playing each other, it's always going to be difficult to find an ideal venue."

The CCCC chief also explained the reasoning behind the choice for the location of the match, revealing other options were considered but weren't picked for specific reasons.

Caroll said: "In the case of Donegal and Mayo, the obvious venue for us was Sligo. Unfortunately, Sligo wasn't available because the pitch is being repaired, so the ground wasn't available.

" Breffni Park wasn't available - Cavan were playing at the same time. Clones wasn't available because Monaghan were playing two hours earlier in the day and Omagh wasn’t available because Tyrone were playing at the same time."

He added: "So our feeling was that the most logical venue [remaining] for both of these counties was King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park."