NEWS ROUND-UP:THE CENTRAL Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) chairman Jimmy Dunne has called for the introduction of match bans after three Meath players who accepted four-week suspensions, arising from the Dublin match on April 20th, will not miss any game time because of a flaw in the GAA's redrafted disciplinary procedures.
A Meath spokesman yesterday was under the impression that Darren Fay, Caoimhín King and Peadar Byrne would miss the opening match in next year's National Football League. However, after being suspended under rule 146 of the Official Guide 2008 (section b, category II, penalty i - players contributing to a melee) their suspensions end on May 17th, the day before Meath's opening championship game, against Carlow in Croke Park, and are no longer carried into next year's league.
The rule states: "Four weeks suspension in the same code and at the same level, inclusive of the next game in the same competition of that competition year, even if that game falls outside the suspension time period."
Basically, "of that competition year" is an updated wording of this law by the rulebook taskforce. It provides a disciplinary loophole that ensures the three players suffer no actual sanction.
The chairman of the Rulebook Taskforce Frank Murphy was unavailable for comment yesterday but Dunne admitted to being aware of the loophole when the CCCC handed down the suspensions last week. He added his committee were restricted by the current rules from handing out match bans to Fay, King and Byrne.
"We knew about this situation as it has happened before," said Dunne. "That's the way the new procedures were set up. It is a situation that the rulebook taskforce are examining at the moment."
So this is another flaw in the GAA disciplinary system?
"Absolutely. No doubt about it. The next match doesn't apply here. It's like everything else, only when you start working these things do the glaring errors become apparent but looking at the record of the current disciplinary procedures they have been reasonably successful."
The rulebook can only be altered at annual congress or a specially-convened congress.
"The ideal situation would be if we could hand down match bans," continued Dunne, "which we did already this year on one occasion in the case of Kieran Donaghy. The Kerry County Board and Donaghy accepted the ban."
Donaghy, it seems, would have been within his rights to reject this suspension, arising from hand gestures to the crowd in Mayo, as there is no outlet for a match ban under the current guidelines.
Five Meath players - Brendan Murphy, Shane McAnarney, Séamus Kenny, Nigel Crawford and Niall McKeigue - go before the Central Hearings Committee (CHC) tonight to contest eight-week suspensions that currently rule them out of the opening two championship fixtures (Carlow on May 18th and Wexford, should they progress, on June 1st).
The four Dublin players who had their suspensions upheld by the CHC last Saturday have until Thursday to contest this decision with the Central Appeals Committee. Diarmuid Connolly and Bernard Brogan (eight weeks) and Tomás Quinn and Paddy Andrews (four weeks) sought personal hearings in the wake of the National League encounter against Meath.
Quinn and Andrews are unlikely to appeal as they have essentially served their bans after missing last Sunday's Division Two league final against Westmeath but Connolly and Brogan may continue to avail of the disciplinary process. As things stand they will miss Dublin's championship opener against Louth on June 8th.
Full back Ross McConnell and Paul Flynn already accepted four-week suspensions, as did midfield pair Eamonn Fennell and Ciarán Whelan, eight weeks each, ensuring they also miss the first Croke Park match against Louth.
"As of 3pm Monday afternoon we have received nothing in writing from the CHC," said Dublin secretary John Costello. "Once they are officially informed, the players have three days to decide on an appeal. It is an individual matter for each player but the county board will assist them should they decide to appeal."
