Offaly football boss Liam Kearns believes the integrity of the O’Byrne Cup is “shot” after Louth and Kildare’s withdrawal from their respective fixtures this week.

The Faithful men’s 0-11 to 0-8 victory over Dublin last night at Parnell Park confirmed their place in the competition’s last four against Louth this weekend.

Speaking to Clubber, the streaming supplier of the competition, after his team’s win in the capital, Kearns hit out at the cancellation of fixtures and said his team were considering withdrawing from the semi-final, citing Louth’s rest period having not played their scheduled game against Wexford this week.

"To be honest with you, I wouldn’t mind dropping out of the competition at this stage.

"We’ve had two hard games in four days. It will be a third game in eight days and our opponents have been sitting at home for the whole week.

"They withdrew from a competition here, they didn’t fulfil their last fixture. That’s the integrity of the competition shot as far as I’m concerned. If you enter a competition, you should have to fulfil your fixtures.

"They’re going to have a week of rest and we have had a very hard game here against Dublin and four days later we’re supposed to play them, and I believe it’s on in Louth as well. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a game too much for us."

"That's the integrity of the competition shot as far as I'm concerned!"😤

Offaly GAA boss Liam Kearns launches scathing attack on prospective semi final opponents Louth in an EXPLOSIVE interview following their victory over Dublin earlier tonight.💣

Full interview on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/Oi6tau9AQm

— Clubber (@clubber) January 11, 2023

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