HUGE SUSPENSIONS, including a two-year ban, have been handed down to members of the Carrick Swan club in Tipperary following an alleged assault on a referee last weekend.

Tipperary disciplinary officials have slapped various bans on four members of the Swan club after referee John Kelly abandoned the recent county junior football semi-final against Shannon Rovers at half-time.

Kelly, a member of the Thurles KRF club, called a halt to proceedings at half-time as he feared for his personal safety and the safety of his fellow officials.

Kelly had booked five and sent off two Swan players before the alleged assault, reported to be a headbutt, occurred.

The referee claimed he had been assaulted after falling to the ground, having been surrounded by players and officials.

According to eyewitnesses, Kelly rose to his feet clutching his face and informed both teams that he had been assaulted. Shortly afterwards, Kelly blew the half-time whistle before retiring to his dressing-room.

Minutes later, he emerged and called both teams together to inform them that he was calling off the game. Tipperary County Board disciplinary officials acted swiftly and proposed a number of suspensions on Monday night.

An official statement read: “At a meeting of Tipperary county competitions control committee last night (Monday), the referee’s report from this game was considered and the game was awarded to Shannon Rovers.

“In addition, proposed suspensions were imposed on four Carrick Swan players, one of 96 weeks, two of 24 weeks each and one of four weeks.

“A substantial fine was imposed on the Carrick Swan club. The players will be informed of these proposed suspensions and have the right to appeal them and the club also has the right to appeal the fine imposed.”

There are also unconfirmed reports that referee Kelly has reported the matter to the Garda.

Meanwhile, the crisis in Galway hurling could take another twist this evening when the chairman of the hurling board will face a possible six-month suspension.

The outcome of tonight’s meeting of a management committee of the Galway County Board could further deepen the divide which has dogged hurling in the county in recent years.

The staging of the Galway county final between All-Ireland champions Portumna and Loughrea on Sunday week is in doubt as defeated semi-finalists Mullagh consider an appeal.

They face the prospect of three of their players being banned after referee Christy Helebert required a Garda escort following their injury-time, one-point loss to Loughrea.

Mullagh claim hurling board chairman Miko Ryan was suspended when he presided over a meeting of the fixtures committee which arranged the match.

Galway county chairman Gerry Larkin said the main priority now was discovering whether the match was correctly constituted.

“The number one priority is for the Connacht Council to decide if the game was properly constituted,” he said. “This will have to be done as soon as possible as the county final is due to be played on November 8th.”

But it has now emerged Ryan could face a possible six-month suspension at a hearing tonight. He is due to appear before a meeting of the management committee in relation to two queries, one of which is whether he acted as an officer of the hurling board while under suspension.

Ryan was suspended for eight weeks during the summer following an investigation into an altercation between himself and Galway hurling selector John Moylan in the second half of their Leinster championship semi-final meeting with Kilkenny.

He initially successfully appealed before it was recently imposed again when he was obliged to serve the remaining 16 days. That suspension ended last Friday.

He could face a six-month suspension if it is found he acted while under sanction.

Clare Hurling Crisis

The future of Clare hurling manager Mike McNamara remains uncertain following last night’s county executive committee meeting in Ennis.

With doubts still existing over the credibility of a letter sent to the county committee from the Clare hurling panel seeking the removal of McNamara, given the revelation yesterday that the letter was not in fact signed by any individual, last night’s meeting was effectively forced to postpone any definite decision on the matter until further consultation with the relevant clubs.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, which McNamara himself was expected to attend, county press officer Syl O’Connor explained that no decision on the manager’s future would be made at this stage.

“The county committee, as you know, is made up of club delegates, and at this stage none of them would have got a mandate from the clubs to vote on this, because it hasn’t been discussed yet,” said O’Connor.

“It would have been spoken about perhaps but not in a formal sense.

“It is an uneasy situation for Mike Mac and it is difficult to know exactly how it will end up. He has put his heart and soul into the job, but at the same time this situation has to be seen as something of a setback for him.”

It has been reported that all but one of the current Clare hurling panel are behind the request to get McNamara removed from the position, despite the fact he has another year to go on his term, and was originally set to be reappointed last night as a matter of formality.

The appointment of a new Clare football manager has also been put off until the near future, as final details of the new appointment are still to be confirmed. Micheál McDermott remains the favourite to succeed Frank Doherty.