O'Rourke on Croke Park brawl: Armagh the common denominator

Colm O'Rourke described the All-Ireland quarter-final fracas involving Armagh and Galway as "pure thuggery" and took aim at the Armagh County Board.

O'Rourke said personal responsibility needed to be taken for Sunday’s unsavoury scenes, rather than seeking mitigating factors such as teams going down the same tunnel and extended panels being allowed on the pitch.

Although Galway were involved in a similar incident during last year’s Connacht final against Mayo at Croke Park, O’Rourke believes the Armagh County Board should shoulder the most responsibility for the brawl after it appealed suspensions given to Armagh players following incidents against Tyrone and Donegal earlier this season.

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Speaking to the RTÉ GAA Podcast, the two-time All-Ireland winner said: "People are trying to use nice words but for me it was just pure thuggery, and it should be called out as such.

"People shouldn’t be saying teams need to go in different entrances. Soccer and rugby teams walk in beside each other at half-time. Why do they not beat the living daylights out of each other?

"The common denominator unfortunately in this has been Armagh this year. This is the third incident they have been involved in. They were involved in a very big incident a few years ago at U20 level when 10 players were suspended.

"The responsibility for players and discipline falls back on a county board. And if a county board continually appeals the decision by a central body then they’re basically saying to their