Dublin are set to be left without a home game in the forthcoming Allianz Football League.
Having been exposed for breaching Covid-19 regulations by training collectively last month, Dublin were stripped of home advantage for a League game on top of manager Farrell’s 12-week ban, and it appears that their other two regulation games will also be on the road.
Counties have been sent a provisional fixture list and Dublin are scheduled to travel to play Roscommon on Sunday, May 16, before taking on Kerry on neutral territory in round two, having originally been due to play host to their great rivals.
They will then round out their Division One South campaign with another away tie against Galway.
Although it comes as a result of disciplinary measures against them, the fact that Dublin won’t enjoy home advantage in the round robin phase is quite the departure given that the bulk of their Allianz League fixtures have been at Croke Park since they moved from Parnell Park in 2011, something which has become an increasingly thorny issue given their dominance in that period.
Of the 145 League and Championship games that Dublin have played since 2011, 72% of them have been at what is essentially their designated home venue. The proportion increases to nearly 90% for Championship games over the past 10 seasons.
However, should they progress to the knockout stages of the competition, they may well enjoy the home comforts of Croke Park once again.
The League fixtures won’t be finalised until next week though Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher are down to begin their term as Tyrone joint-managers against Donegal in Omagh on Saturday, May 15.
The Allianz Hurling League gets underway seven days earlier with the glamour clash set to be the meeting meeting of reigning League, Munster and All-Ireland hurling champions Limerick and Tipperary at the LIT Gaelic Grounds on Saturday, May 8.
