Three Sligo players face suspension

Three Sligo players have been summoned to appear before the GAA's Games Administration Committee (GAC) for their involvement in last Sunday's on-pitch melee during the National Football League match with Cavan at Markievicz Park.

The identity and number of Cavan players judged to have been involved have yet to be disclosed by the county board, but they are almost certain to include corner back Rory Donoghue (who was red-carded) and centre forward Larry Reilly.

Sligo's midfield pairing of Eamon O'Hara and Paul Durcan along with substitute Ken Killeen (who was straight red-carded) have each been held responsible for a part in the incident which occured just minutes before the full-time whistle. The melee started when Reilly and Killeen became involved in a tussle close to the sideline.

The GAC met in Croke Park on Wednesday night to examine both video evidence and the referee's report of the incident.

Television pictures from Network 2's Sunday Sport programme recorded clear evidence of the main players involved in the outbreak of punches and they could now find themselves out of action until the beginning of May. The suspensions will be handed down at next Wednesday's GAC meeting.

New disciplinary arrangements adopted by the GAA at this year's congress mean that suspensions will run from the beginning of February, thus avoiding them becoming meaningless during the downperiod in December and January.

Sligo and Cavan officials both appealed for leniency in the aftermath of Sunday's game, but the GAA were quick to issue a statement making it clear that their rules will be vigorously and expeditiously applied.

Meanwhile, it now seems increasingly likely that Colin Corkery will start with Nemo Rangers for Sunday's Munster club championship football final against Glenflesk.

Corkery suffered a recurrence of a viral infection that effects his heartbeat prior to the Munster semi-final a fortnight ago and was advised to rest until the New Year. But the Cork forward revisited a heart specialist earlier this week and was given a clean bill of health.

He rejoined Nemo Rangers for training on Tuesday and again last night and will now return to the specialist this morning before making a final decision on whether to play or not.

Manager Billy Morgan is obviously taking a cautious approach to the situation but the current diagnosis appears to favour Corkery's return.

"There's no way that I will put him out on the field if there is any danger at all, but if he is given the all clear by a specialist then he should be okay," said Morgan. "He seems happy himself that he has recovered and he did everything we asked of him in training this week."

Corkery does have a tradition of heart trouble in the family, but this condition, which causes an irregular heartbeat, can be controlled with medication.

Team doctor Con Murphy has also been monitoring the situation and if all risk is removed then Nemo should be at full strength for the trip to Limerick to meet Glenflesk. The Kerry representatives will name their team later today.

Elsewhere, Aaron Shearer has been given a starting place in the Na Fianna side to face Carlow champions O'Hanrahan's in the Leinster club championship football final.

It will be Shearer's first start for Na Fianna this season, although he was introduced as a substitute in four of the five games that it took Na Fianna to win the Dublin title.

He takes over from Ronan O'Hagan, who held the right half forward position in their convincing semi-final win over Rhode a fortnight ago.

But there may yet be a place for O'Hagan. The left half forward position has been left vacant in the hope that Mick Galvin will have sufficiently recovered from the broken rib that he suffered in the quarter-final win over Abbeylara.

Should he fail his fitness test, the place is likely to go to either O'Hagan or Dermot Lynch, who started there the last day.

Otherwise, manager Paul Caffrey has left the team unchanged. There was some doubt over the fitness of Karl Donnelly after he went over on his ankle while playing basketball for the Saints last weekend, but he has been deemed fit to play and will join recently appointed All Star Kieran McGeeney at midfield.

Originally scheduled for Newbridge, the bad weather has forced the game to be switched to O'Moore Park, Portlaoise (with a 2.15 throw-in). The winners in Leinster will, in the New Year, play either the Munster champions or the British champions, who meet in the All-Ireland quarter-final on Sunday week.

O'Hanrahan's have delayed the announcement of their team until Saturday, but the only concern for manager Michael Dempsey is corner back and captain Niall English. He has been carrying a leg injury since the semi-final win over Moorefield but if he is fit to start then the team is likely to be unaltered.

The Derry team named for Sunday's refixed National League game with Mayo continues to be dominated by younger players. Manager Eamon Coleman has switched goalkeepers from the team that fell to Clare last week (Eoin McCloskey takes over from Michael Conlon), but otherwise sticks to his experimental side.

NA FIANNA (v O'Hanrahan's): S Grey; N O'Murchu, B McManus, T Lynch; S Connell, N Clancy, S McGlinchy; K Donnelly, K McKeeney; A Shearer, D Farrell, A N Other; I Foley, J Sherlock, D Mackin.

DERRY (SF v Mayo): E McCloskey; J Covenery, K McCoy, R Dougan; P Carton, A Heaney, P Kelly; P O'Kane, E Muldoon; C Gilligan, P Murphy, D Boylan; P Bradley, P McFlynn, C Conwell.