Tyrone call for US travel restrictions

December 09, 2006
Tyrone secretary Dominic McCaughney has called on the GAA authorities to make it more difficult for top players to play football in the US once their county has been knocked out of the All-Ireland championship. Several Tyrone stars headed for the US this summer following the reigning All-Ireland champions' early championship exit at the hands of Laois, and McCaughney concedes that a decision to postpone a round of club championship games to facilitate the county team's preparations contributed to the exodus. "Once aspect of the 2006 season which in hindsight I personally would have changed was the decision by the Tyrone GAC, including myself, to postpone a round of the WJ Dolan Tyrone senior championship following the defeat at the hands of Derry in the opening game of the Ulster championship at Healy Park," he states in his annual report. "At the time, it was felt that we were helping to facilitate a number of injured county players and preventing possible further injuries to others. "But I now believe this was a wrong move on our behalf as several of the clubs then had to play without their big name players in the championship later on in the season after Tyrone had bowed out to Laois in the All-Ireland qualifiers and several of the players had departed for foreign shores."

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