Board yet to rule on violence

The Dublin County Board will decide next Tuesday evening on the scale of their investigation into the spectator violence that erupted during the county football championship game between Naomh Fionnbara and St Anne's at O'Toole Park in Crumlin on Wednesday.

The game was abandoned by referee Sean Kennedy with just under five minutes remaining and Gardai were called to deal with the disturbance. Although no arrests were made, the referee's report is due to be handed in to the county board sometime today and following that, county chairman John Bailey will address the issue at Tuesday's county board meeting.

For a start, the game - which was a first round replay - has to be refixed for a later date. Almost certain to face some sort of sanction is the Naomh Fionnbara goalkeeper Peter Fitzgerald. He was red-carded by Kennedy after reportedly interfering with the umpire, and while the referee was dealing with that incident, fighting broke out among several spectators.

The incident was over in a matter of minutes but at that stage Kennedy decided the game should be abandoned for safety reasons. Part of the problem seemed to stem from the fact that St Anne's had put themselves back in contention after a goal from Damien Bolger reduced the gap to two points. Dublin GAC chairman John Kirwan was also present at the match. The matter is almost certain to be referred to the disciplinary committee although it is unlikely that either club will be expelled from the competition.

At the original meeting between the two sides last Saturday, Kerry forward Liam Hassett suffered the knee injury that will keep him out of football for the summer.

In Ulster, meanwhile, the decision to reduce the 30-day restrictions due to foot-and-mouth to 15 days will greatly improve the football championship preparations for Tyrone, Derry and Antrim. Tyrone were originally unable to play any challenge games until May 13th and Derry were denied the services of seven players from the Loup and Ballinderry clubs.

The revised Ulster schedule put the Derry-Antrim game back to June 3rd, and for Brian White, the Antrim manager, there is now an even greater window of opportunity to get the championship preparations back on track.

Tyrone's under-21 team will also benefit from the lifting of restrictions as they prepare for their Ulster final against Fermanagh on May 26th. The Tyrone senior team, who meet Antrim on May 20th, will be without the services of Seamus McCallan after he recently suffered a hamstring injury.

There is better news for Donegal manager Mickey Moran ahead of their championship meeting with Fermanagh next weekend. Defender Damien Diver is off the long-term injury list having recovered from the shoulder problem that limited his entire league season.

There was also welcome news for Kerry manager Paidi O Se. On the same week that he learned Hassett would be out for the summer, forward John Crowley was back training with the panel for the first time this season. A back injury kept him out of all league action after Christmas but he is now in contention for a starting place when the All-Ireland champions begin the defence of their title against Kerry on Sunday week.

Willie O'Connor's return to the Kilkenny hurling panel may well hinge on his appearance this weekend with his club Glenmore. O'Connor hasn't played for the county since last year's All-Ireland victory and is currently troubled with a hamstring injury but it is expected that if he comes through the club match then he may return to the panel in time for the championship.