Leitrim have taken the very unusual step of conceding its Allianz Football League game against Fermanagh this Sunday.
Steven Poacher's side were set to host the Ernesiders in Ballinamore, however Leitrim released a lengthy statement saying it only had 13 outfield players who are available tomorrow. The Leitrim statement also said their U20 side will also play Galway this week in the Connacht championship, which rules out six players.
Leitrim have lost all five of their league games so far this season and have a -77 points difference. Relegation to Division Four has already been confirmed.
The country released a detailed statement explaining the decision to forfeit the tie, saying:
Leitrim GAA regrets that it has to concede the Allianz Football League Round 6 game to Fermanagh which was due to be played in Ballinamore tomorrow. The reasons for this are genuine and revolve simply around the availability of enough fit to play players to fulfil this fixture.
This weekend the Team Management has a total of 13 outfield players who are fit to play tomorrow, including two players who are just coming back from serious injury one of whom has been out for 14 months & has played only 12 minutes in the last game versus Offaly. This does not include our two goalkeepers who are recovering from head injuries and are not fit to play.
In addition to this, six members of the panel are not available tomorrow due to the fact that they are in preparation for a Connacht Under 20 Championship match versus Galway on Wednesday evening next.
We must stress that the Leitrim players were very keen to play this game if it was at all possible but due to overall player welfare considerations and a duty of care towards the group for the greater good, we have had to take this unprecedented and unfortunate decision. In reality, we could find ourselves with only 12 players on the field tomorrow.
The complete background to this decision includes the fact that in the preparation for this year’s campaign, an inordinate number of last year’s panel had declared themselves unavailable for the 2025 season and the current Team Management appointed at the end of October has had to deal with forming a panel in a much-delayed timeframe in which preparation only commenced in December. Due to the unavailability of former players, they found themselves reliant on a large number of inexperienced players and younger players from the Under 20 age group. The workload in preparation for this season has cumulatively taken its toll and a multiplicity of simultaneous injuries has brought us to this unfortunate situation, which has resulted as outlined.
Leitrim's 'unprecedented' decision
Stephen Poacher spoke to Dave Kelly of RTÉ on Saturday evening to give more details on the decision. Poacher said Leitrim have six U20 players in their squad, with five starting, but he said it would be 'unfair' from a 'player welfare' point of view to send the players out with the Galway game on Wednesday. He effectively said his players were against the decision and said they wanted to contest the match with 12 or 13 players.
"They're proud players, they're proud Leitrim people. Sometimes heart can overrule the heads in these situations, particularly when it's an emotional environment."
Poacher said he also could not comment on Fermanagh's reaction to the move, as it was between the two county boards.
The decision to concede the fixture because of a player shortage was described as 'unprecedented' by Marty Morrissey.
Leitrim's statement received a large amount of criticism on Twitter, with some saying that county must surely have club players available to be called into the squad.
One GAA fan on Twitter wrote: "I'm sure there's plenty of competent club footballers in Leitrim that are looking at this and... not best pleased, put it that way."
No doubt the decision will prompt plenty of GAA debate over the coming week. Leitrim's move ask questions about whether 'so-called weaker counties', or at least ones with small playing pools, can meet the increasingly professional demands of intercounty GAA
Leitrim's final league fixture will take place on 23 March against neighbours Sligo.
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