GAA insist no plans to hold neutral round robin games at Croke Park

The GAA say they have not intended to hold any All-Ireland SFC group phase round three games at Croke Park.

This comes after Mayo delegates were told that the county have requested that their designated neutral game against Dublin not be played at HQ.

Since the introduction of group formats for the latter stages of the Sam Maguire race - first with the Super 8s in 2018 and '19 and last season with the current round-robin format - Dublin have played five of their nine games at Croke Park with that number set to rise to six when they host Roscommon on Saturday.

Last season, Dublin's neutral clash with Sligo was played at Kingspan Breffni and Mayo are hoping that Dessie Farrell’s side won’t get to stay in the capital, with the counties set to meet on the weekend of 15-16 June.

Séamus Touhy, chairman of Mayo GAA, informed delegates of the request submitted to the GAA at Wednesday night’s county board meeting, reports the Mayo News.

In 2018, Donegal had challenged why their neutral game with Dublin was to be held at Croke Park, seeking clarity on the 'neutral' aspect, before playing there after discussions with the GAA suggested there would be a review of the issue moving forward.

Galway manager Pádraic Joyce had expressed the hope that the Croke Park gates would be open for their third-round neutral clash with Armagh, also to be played on that 15-16 June weekend.

The sides met at the same stage last year in Carrick-on-Shannon, but earlier this week Joyce said that the Connacht champions were hoping for a Croke Park clash. RTÉ Sport understands that Armagh haven't discussed the issue with full focus on Westmeath this weekend, but it's something they'd likely consider.

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