Roscommon management responds to 'obvious' booing of Mayo star Andy Moran
The Roscommon GAA management and players have issued a statement condemning their fans that booed Mayo's Andy Moran during last Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-final,
The game ended in a draw with the final score tallying Mayo 1-12, Roscommon 2-9.
Moran plays for Ballaghaderreen which is geographically in the county of Roscommon, however, the club plays in the Mayo championship.
The former All Star player was booed consistently until he was substituted after 58 minutes.
The behaviour of some Roscommon supporters was recognised by pundits and drew a negative reaction from RTÉ commentator Martin Carney.
Carney was critical of the booing during his live commentary of the game on MidWest radio.
"I love to see Andy Moran stuffing them. Because every time he gets the ball he is being unfairly booed. He is a most sporting player, he has played well today, but every time he gets the ball, my god, he gets hisses, boos, and anything else Roscommon people can throw at him," he said.
"Andy Moran does not deserve to be booed like this by a section of the Roscommon crowd. It is most unbecoming."
On Monday morning, Carney was again on MidWest radio about the incident where he explained it isn't Andy Moran's fault that the GAA made the decision in the early 1900s to leave Ballaghdreen as part of Mayo football.
"...It's the first time I've noticed Andy Moran being subjected to that. It's an unusual facet of Gaelic football to hear the booing of a player like that. You can understand if a player was acting the maggot on the pitch but a player of Andy's stature, and of Andy's sportsmanship, did not deserve that."
The Roscommon team have now released a statement condemning the behaviour and urged supporters to refrain from booing any player.
"Roscommon Senior Football management and players would like to publicly thank the many Roscommon supporters who travelled to Croke Park yesterday to support them," the statement said.
"During the game, it was obvious that a section of Roscommon supporters tried to upset Andy Moran by booing him while on or near the ball.
"The Roscommon players and management do not condone this behaviour from any set of fans but especially our own and believe it has no place in Gaelic games or indeed any sport.
"We strongly urge all supporters to please refrain from booing any player.
"We as a team have a value set and we always try and play the game in a sporting manner and expect our supporters to support in a similar manner. Thank you for your continued support."
The All-Ireland quarter-final final replay between Roscommon and Mayo has been confirmed for 2pm on Monday, August 7, in Croke Park.
