Intercounty Football ‘Not A Level Playing Field’, Says Oisin McConville After Wicklow Controversy

All-Ireland winner questions commitment to lower division teams as disputed late decision costs Wicklow

Wicklow football boss Oisin McConville reckons intercounty football is no longer played on a level playing field, after publicly insisting lower division teams in the Allianz Football League are being treated with much less regard by the GAA.

The Armagh all-Ireland winner was enraged after a highly disputed late referee call cost his Wicklow side a draw with neighbours Carlow in Division Four.

Deep into injury time, Garden star Dean Healy appeared to have landed an equalising goal for Wicklow, only for the man in the middle to blow up for an alleged square ball offence condemning the Wicklow men to a 1-15 to 2-9 defeat.

The incident was the latest in a series of decisions that have frustrated McConville this season, and he believes it highlights a wider issue within the League structure.

‘It’s obvious Division Four doesn’t matter as much’

Speaking on BBC's The GAA Social podcast, McConville said the disparity between the top and bottom is impossible to ignore.

“I would just love to see us have the same conditions as Division One and Two,” he said. “When these rules came in, one of the big selling points was that they would filter all the way down, even to club football. That hasn’t happened.”

Wicklow were also penalised for a “three-up” breach under the new rules during the match, after a linesman instructed a player to re-enter the field of play in that area.

McConville also pointed to the inconsistent rollout of the updated GAA clock and hooter system, which has not been implemented across all lower-tier League fixtures.

“Some week, I would just love to have some of the top referees, top refereeing teams, come down and referee in Division Four,” he added. “My point is: is Division Four not as important as Division One? It’s obvious it’s not.

“For me, it is important. I see what goes into it for the players, and I genuinely think they deserve better.”

Call for top referees at lower-tier games

McConville questioned why elite officials were not being used in Division Four, especially with many twiddling their thumbs over the weekend.

“I know there were a lot of top officials not doing anything on Saturday,” he said. “There were lads running the line who have refereed All-Ireland semi-finals and finals, yet they weren’t refereeing games. We’d be only too glad to have some of those referees officiating our matches.”

Bigger than one result

While Wicklow’s promotion hopes were taking a set back, McConville insists the issue goes far beyond a single game.

“It’s much more than that,” he said. “It’s week in, week out. It just doesn’t matter as much, and that’s what’s really grinding at this stage — that this is allowed to continue. It’s frustrating. It’s raw.”

He added: “I know the GAA don’t put much stock in Division Four and what goes on there, but we just want a fair crack at the new rules like everyone else. We don’t have the hooter, and we don’t always have the top refs. There were rules tonight that I didn’t even know existed, and they cost us dearly.”