Officials fume as O’Brien escapes three-game ban

GAA officials were fuming yesterday as the disciplinary case against Dublin footballer Kevin O’Brien collapsed because of the absence of key witness Paddy McBrearty of Donegal at Thursday night’s Central Hearings Committee meeting.

O’Brien was accused of biting McBrearty in a recent Allianz League Division 1 game in Ballybofey, after which the Donegal player was brought to Letterkenny General Hospital for medical treatment.

Though Dublin rejected suggestions McBrearty had been bitten, with county chairman Andy Kettle stating the Dublin team medic had suggested the wound was “a bruise, not a laceration,” the case eventually reached the Central Competitions Controls Committee (CCCC).

Last week that committee proposed a three-game ban for the Dublin defender after their investigation into the allegations, but O’Brien chose not to accept the ban for what the CCCC suggested was a Category Three offence and duly appealed.

His appeal went to the CHC this week, but while that meeting was attended by Donegal GAA officials and medical staff, without McBrearty the case could not be pursued, which means O’Brien escapes the three-game ban and could figure this weekend.

Under the GAA’s disciplinary procedures the matter cannot be revisited and O’Brien is free to play for the rest of the summer, despite a GAA committee finding him guilty of the offence.

There was a strong sense within the GAA of an opportunity lost regarding the case.

In recent weeks other sports have had high-profile disciplinary controversies, from Munster’s Paul O’Connell escaping disciplinary action after kicking Dave Kearney of Leinster, to another biting incident involving Luis Suarez of Liverpool in the English Premier League last weekend. The Liverpool player was given a 10-game ban by the FA and fined by his club this week.

The O’Brien-McBrearty case was seen within the GAA hierarchy as a chance to make a strong stand on discipline. While Thursday evening’s events may raise questions about the efficiency of the association’s disciplinary procedures, the sense of official frustration within the GAA stems from the fact that the CCCC accepted the substantive charge of biting, and the CHC has had to quash the ban based on a technicality.