Common sense prevails as GAA to fix obvious problem arising from All-Ireland football final match-up

The Sun

16-07-2025

KERRY are set to wear their alternative blue kit in order to avoid a colour clash in this year's All-Ireland football final.
Common sense seemed to be ignored for Donegal's semi-final triumph over Meath when both teams lined out in their traditional colours.
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It is the referee's call whether a colour clash is significant enough that one or both of the teams is compelled to wear one of their alternative strips.
Ultimately, Paul Faloon did not deem that a necessary step to take. And in fairness many viewers expressed that they had little to no issue distinguishing Donegal players from Kerry counterparts.
But it was a problem for some portions of the TV as well as Croke Park audience.
Other sports such as rugby union have taken more of a proactive approach in recent years to be cognisant of those who suffer from colour-blindness around fixtures such as Wales against Ireland.
So plenty of GAA enthusiasts will likely appreciate a needless colour clash being avoided altogether.
On Tuesday Andrew Moynihan of the Kerry's Eye newspaper reported that he's heard Jack O'Connor's men will don their dark blue jerseys on the day.
In a follow-up exchange on X he was asked by one follower 'Is this official?'
To which, he replied: "Believe so Roman. County Board came to a decision on it."
It's worth noting that when these two counties met in the 2014 showpiece neither of them adopted a secondary kit.
This arguably contributed to one of the most forgettable All-Ireland finals in living memory as the Aristocrats edged McGuinness' first batch by 2-9 to 0-12.
'Easiest interview I've ever had' jokes RTE GAA host after pundits go back and forth before Meath vs Donegal
You could even argue that goalkeeper Paul Durcan's oddly errant kick-out straight to Kieran Donaghy for his goal may have been partly due to him blending in with the opposition.
In any case, it seems the GAA is starting to move with the times on this dilemma with this set to be the first football final since the 2010 meeting of Cork and Down where one side won't be in their primary kit.
REF CALL
Tuesday also brought with it news over who will referee the biggest game in the Gaelic football calendar as Brendan Cawley will take charge for the first time.
The Kildare native has been on the inter-county officiating circuit since 2019 and is a widely respected figure across the game.
His line umpires on the day will be Monaghan's Martin McNally and David Coldrick of Meath, with McNally also set to serve as standby referee.
Last year saw Cawley oversee Galway's narrow semi-final triumph over Donegal. This time around McGuinness' men had a far easier time of it as they demolished Meath 3-26 to 0-15 on Sunday.
In the wake of their 2024 defeat to Galway, McGuinness lamented their failure to convert nine of 14 scoring opportunities in the second half.
But having seen his team hit 3-13 after the change of ends at a packed Croke Park, there were no such complaints this time after they ruthlessly disposed of Meath's attempt to take another major scalp.
The Royals have already tasted unlikely Championship victories over Dublin, Kerry and Galway this summer. Hopes of a first All-Ireland final appearance in 24 years were therefore high.
But Robbie Brennan's superb first season at the helm was brought to an end in chastening fashion. Even at half-time, things looked ominous for Meath as they trailed by 0-13 to 0-8.
With a Sam Maguire decider against Kerry to come on Sunday week, Donegal could even afford to withdraw 35-year-old talisman Michael Murphy with 25 minutes still to play.