Spectator banned for attacking referee

THE spectator who assaulted referee Martin Brady in Casement Park last Sunday has been suspended for two years by the Ulster Council.

The suspension - in GAA terms for 96 weeks - was imposed at a meeting on Wednesday night, arose form out of the incident at the end of the Ulster Club SFC semi-final between Mayobridge and Carrickmore, when the spectator ran on to the field and struck the referee.

At the same meeting, penalties ranging from eight to 24 weeks were imposed following investigation of incidents at an earlier match in the championship involving Carrickmore and Derrygonnelly.

The council merely announced that Jerome Gormley from the Carrickmore club had been suspended for 96 weeks following last Sunday’s game.

It didn’t name him as the spectator implicated in the assault on the referee but it has been established that he was the person involved.

Following the incident, he contacted the Carrickmore club and on Monday he telephoned the referee to apologise.

He also made contact with Ulster Council Secretary Danny Murphy.

Both Carrickmore and Derrygonnelly received cautions arising out of incidents in their club championship game on October 24.

Two players from Derrygonnelly - Jarlath McGurn and Frank McKenna - received 24 weeks suspensions from the dates of their last games, Martin Greene was suspended for four weeks from the date of the game and Paul Greene received an eight-week term.

Meanwhile, Down legend Mickey Linden is given no chance of taking part in Sunday’s AIB Ulster club football final for Mayobridge against Crossmaglen Rangers.

Linden, aged 41, has fulfilled the dual role of player-manager in this year’s campaign, assisted by another former Down star, John Murphy, but he only played for the first half of last Sunday’s semi-final victory over Carrickmore.

After suffering a groin injury he didn’t resume for the second half.

Murphy, a member of the All-Ireland winning team of 1968, said yesterday that Linden would not start the game.

“It’s a very remote possibility, unless things improve dramatically before the end of the week. At this stage it’s not very promising.’’

Mayobridge, who will again be without county players Michael Walsh and Ronan Sexton, will be contesting their second provincial final.

Three years ago they lost to Ballinderry Shamrocks. They have contested the last seven Down county finals, winning four.

Crossmaglen Rangers have the distinction of winning three All-Ireland club titles under the management of Joe Kernan, who has two sons in the current team.

The last of those victories was in the 2000 final where they beat a Na Fianna side coached by Paul Caffrey - who was yesterday appointed to the Dublin manager’s job.