Yesterday, it was widely reported that Mick Barrett, the Mayo pitch invader, had been handed a one-year ban by the GAA. However the news of this decision came as a big surprise to the man himself.
Barrett claims that he knew nothing of the proceedings until he read about it in the paper. Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Barrett said:
I got whispers that something was happening but the first I heard about a ban was in the paper on Wednesday morning.
I was never called to any meeting or never received any letter or contact about a ban.
He also spoke about how he is planning to appeal the decision. Barrett then – and this is the funny bit – claimed that he hadn't done anything wrong:
I don’t think I have done anything wrong. But in saying that, there has been mixed reaction to what I did, here in Mayo — some people thought I did the right thing and others thought I didn’t.
Eh earth to Matilda, you fecking invaded the pitch in the middle of an All Ireland semi-final! It took five stewards and a woman to get you off! You can't be doing that.
Barrett then had the temerity to blame others, for not keeping him off the pitch:
But the first thing I would say is that it wouldn’t have happened if the game had been played in Croke Park — where it should have been — and not in Limerick. There is no way I would have been allowed anywhere near the pitch in Croke Park.
I swear to God, I had to double check that this wasn't the Examiner's first attempt at satire.
