Savage ban must go, say Galway

Galwey will make every effort to prevent Derek Savage's pending suspension, which is set to rule him out of most of the concluding rounds of the Allianz Football League. The Galway forward was sent off in Ballyshannon last Sunday after an incident involving Donegal's Eamonn Doherty and could be facing a four-week suspension.

Yesterday the Galway County Board indicated their intentions to pursue the matter with the GAA's Games Administration Committee (GAC). The GAC are scheduled to meet this evening, and Galway hope their case can be ready and heard at that meeting.

The appeal will depend on the details of referee Séamus McCormack's report, but Galway are confident that they have a very strong case. Doherty has already stated that Savage's tackle was nothing more than a shoulder - without any intention to foul - and that there was absolutely no venom involved.

"It's clear we have a good case here," said Galway football board secretary John Power. "The Donegal player has come out and said categorically that Derek Savage did not strike him in any way. We want to get the player's name cleared here, but we also do need him for the rest of the league."

GAC chairman Paraic Duffy said the matter would be examined as soon as possible but could not say for sure if it would be dealt with tonight: "If Galway do want to get a hearing on this matter then of course we won't be standing in the way. And the GAC will always want to get a hearing like this out of the way as soon as possible."

McCormack acted on the advice of an umpire but so far it seems that no video evidence will be presented in the case.

Galway manager John O'Mahony has also stated his support for Savage, saying that he hopes an injustice could be avoided.

It is also unclear whether or not the GAC will decide this evening on the drawn Kildare-Sligo league match on February 10th in Newbridge which ended in controversy after Kildare were deemed to have used six substitutes during the game, one more than allowed.

The GAC decided at their meeting last Wednesday night that there wasn't enough information in the referee's report to make a ruling, and a sub-committee was set up to independently to try to determine what exactly had happened.

That sub-committee met on Monday night to assess their information - and gather more details from both counties - and they will present their findings for consideration to the full GAC meeting tonight. "Obviously if we feel we have now gathered enough information then we will make a decision," explained Duffy. "We don't want to delay this matter any longer than is necessary, but there are rules to be followed."

If the GAC make a final decision tonight the outcome will be made public tomorrow. Although Kildare are adamant that two of their six substitutions were blood replacements, it still appears likely that they will be forced to concede the point to Sligo. Currently lying second to Mayo, that would reduce Kildare's chances of reaching the play-offs.

With another busy weekend of football fixtures ahead and no sign of improvement in the weather, the GAC may have to deal further with refixtures after Sunday. The three hurling league games called off last Sunday (Offaly v Tipperary, Dublin v Galway and Westmeath v Kildare) have been provisionally rescheduled for March 31st.

Added to the mix this weekend are four opening games in the Leinster under-21 football championship - all fixed for Saturday - and already the Dublin-Carlow game has been moved out of Parnell Park because of the poor condition of the pitch.

The Dublin senior footballers are scheduled to play Westmeath at Parnell Park on Sunday and the county board decided that the pitch couldn't take two games back-to-back. With TG4 also set to provide live television coverage on Sunday, Dublin wanted to make every effort to ensure the senior game could go ahead.

TG4 will also provide live coverage from Nenagh of Saturday's second semi-final of the All-Ireland club football championship. Charlestown of Mayo are set to meet Nemo Rangers of Cork, with the winners progressing to meet Ballinderry on March 17th.

Meanwhile, Croke Park has begun the advertising process for a new commercial manager. The position was established as part of the commercial development of the stadium facilities, including the conference, banqueting and business centre operations, and the new appointee would report to the current stadium director Peter McKenna.

Croke Park are also looking for a new assistant financial controller.