Westmeath hurling boss Johnny Dooley has expressed disbelief at the decision to fix their Christy Ring Cup final against Carlow for Friday night in Croke Park. By Randal Scally The second tier hurling championship decider has been fixed for 7.30pm on Friday as a stand-alone fixture and could struggle to attract 1,000 spectators such is the disgust in both Westmeath and Carlow at the timing of the game. Offaly legend Dooley said it is an insult to the weaker hurling counties and revealed that both finalists have even discussed the possibility of not fulfilling the fixture unless it is rescheduled for a Sunday afternoon. "I don't know what's happening at the moment, there's talk that it won't go ahead if they don't move it to a more suitable time," a bewildered Dooley said. "I'm disgusted, it's a joke; it's unbelievable to think that they (the CCCC) would even consider putting it on a Friday night. The place is going to be empty and it beggars belief why they'd do something like this. I'm depressed over it." Dooley hit out at the GAA for reneging on their promise to play the Christy Ring Cup final before one of the All-Ireland hurling semi-finals. He added: "When the Christy Ring and Nicky Rackard Cups were introduced three or four years ago, the big incentive for the players was to play them before a big crowd in Croke Park. "The whole idea was to promote hurling in the weaker counties, but typical of the GAA, they have gone back on their promise and totally demeaned the competition." The GAA have yet to confirm if the Ring Cup or Rackard Cup finals - the latter will act as a curtain-raiser to the Kildare v Fermanagh and Kerry v Monaghan football qualifiers on Sunday - will be televised live as in previous years. Croke Park will also host a treble header of Tommy Murphy Cup and All-Ireland football qualifier action on Saturday. Tweet

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