Tyrone PRO calls for pundits to be censured by the GAA

High-profile GAA pundits could be charged with bringing the game into disrepute if a prominent Tyrone official gets his way.

Former players who have made a 'cottage industry' out of taking on punditry roles on TV and writing analytical and opinion pieces for newspapers have provoked the ire of the county's PRO Eunan Lindsay.

He has suggested that pundits should face a similar range of sanctions to managers and players who get themselves into hot water with GAA officialdom over post-match comments.

In his report to annual convention, Lindsay calls on Croke Park to take on the issue of analysts making offensive personal comments on various media platforms.

“The cottage industry that has developed around ‘punditry’ by former players and managers on TV and in newspapers is one which must be looked at closely by the GAA centrally,” he says.

“While players and management have been charged with bringing the Association into disrepute arising from comments after a match or on social media, punditry is unregulated, can be much more cutting and appears to be without the risk of sanction by the Association regardless of the personal nature of the comments.”

Lindsay accepts that criticism is warranted at times, but it must be applied in a fair and balanced manner.

Working journalists

“If criticism is warranted then we must take it on the chin and, by and large, most working journalists will be fair or, at the very least, measured in their criticism.”

The problem of negative and offensive analysis is mainly a national problem, and the Tyrone PRO praises the local media within the county for their coverage of GAA affairs.

“We continue to be fortunate to have a number of excellent journalists covering all aspects of Tyrone GAA at both the local and national arena.

“The continued level of coverage they give to our games and activities is second to none. There are a huge amount of positive initiatives going on in the county throughout the year and these generate plenty of good PR for us.”

The online presence of the GAA continues to increase, and Lindsay is keen to exploit all the opportunities offered by the internet.

“The Tyrone GAA presence continues to increase online in particular with our Facebook and Twitter accounts and with our recent addition to Instagram it continues to grow daily.

“While the website continues to remain popular for fixtures and results, podcasts and team news, some parts have become stale and obsolete so we intend taking a look at the entire website over the winter months and looking to see what additional content can be added and/or removed.”