Below is the statement made by the 2008 Cork senior football panel on February 5th, in which they outline their support for the hurling panel and threaten to join them on strike after the National Football League.
Statement on behalf of the Cork Senior Football Panel 2008
We have been monitoring the current conflict between the Cork Senior Hurling Panel 2008 and the Executive of the Cork County Board for a number of months. We feel it is now time to clarify our position, which is that we fully support the stance taken by the 2008 hurling panel.
We confirm our unanimous agreement to withdraw our services as of the end of the National Football League unless a resolution is found to the satisfaction of the 2008 hurling and football panels.
We believe that Mr. Kieran Mulvey's Arbitration findings were an ideal template for the Executive and the players to begin working together for the benefit of the GAA in Cork and to help repair relations that have been damaged in the past.
Unfortunately, we believe that it is evident that the Executive would rather work against the Cork Hurling Panel of 2008 rather than work with them and we are fearful that Cork hurlers and footballers of the future will be put in the same position.
We do not believe that the Executive have acted with the best interest of Cork GAA at heart with their recent actions, whereby the spirit of the arbitration was not adhered to in the selection process.
We support the plea of the hurlers that a process, by which the clubs discuss and debate the issue, in an appropriate time-frame, would begin as soon as possible. We would urge all Cork GAA followers to actively and urgently engage with their clubs so their views can be reflected at club and county level.