Limerick’s Kyle Hayes accepts one-match ban after incident in Galway game

Limerick All Star Kyle Hayes has accepted a one-match suspension for an incident in last weekend’s Division 1A hurling league encounter with Galway in Pearse Stadium.

Limerick county executive confirmed to The Irish Times that the decision had been taken not to seek a hearing. The county hurlers are off to Portugal on Friday for a few days of warm weather training. They will return late next week before their next league match, against Westmeath.

Hayes’s actions were investigated by the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) after he was seen on television flicking his hurl up and catching Brian Concannon in the face guard after a tussle for possession in the closing minutes of Sunday’s match.

The incident escaped the attention of both match referee Seán Stack and his linesman, which enabled the CCCC to intervene and recommend a one-match ban for a Category III (ii) infraction: ‘Striking or attempting to strike with a hurley, with minimal force’.

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Hayes had already been shown a yellow card earlier in the match and therefore had he been given even a second yellow, he would have been sent off.

Limerick’s next scheduled match against Westmeath is on Sunday week in Mullingar. The All-Ireland champions are overwhelming favourites to win that fixture even in the absence of their wing back.

The only possible motivation for challenging the proposed penalty would have been to keep it off the player’s record and try to avoid the risk of any similar suspension later in the season being doubled for a repeat infraction.

It has also emerged that Kerry All Star and Fossa captain Paudie Clifford escaped with a warning after his junior All-Ireland acceptance speech in January when he publicly criticised match referee Thomas Murphy from Galway for showing him a red card in the final against Stewartstown.

In the speech, the brother of Footballer of the Year David – who was also dismissed in the same match – said that he had “been wrongly sent off,” adding, “it’s unbelievable how I was sent off”. Television pictures showed Clifford sticking his hand into opponent Gerard O’Neill’s face and pushing it back.

The Fossa captain had also been seriously assaulted in injury-time, when an elbow thrown at his head by the immediately red-carded Anton Coyle could have broken his jaw.

It is understood that Clifford quickly apologised after the speech to both GAA president Larry McCarthy and the referee.

His apologies were accepted and the CCCC decided to leave censure at a warning.