Boland cleared to play for Tipp in final against Cats

TIPPERARY defender John Boland has been cleared to play in next month’s All-Ireland MHC final against Kilkenny.

In yet another case of a referee stating he mistakenly issued red instead of yellow cards, Boland, a member of the Toomevara club, along with three other players, was ordered off a North Tipperary MHC match, after being issued with straight red cards following a fracas on the field. However, in his report to the North Tipperary Board under whose jurisdiction the game was played, referee PJ Cleary said he mistakenly issued red instead of yellow cards to all four players.

The referee added that having spotted his mistake, he went to correct it on the field, but before he could do so, he was confronted by a member of the Toomevara club whereupon he abandoned the match without making the correction. In a statement issued by the North Tipperary Board through their secretary Ger McKeogh, the board stated that in light of the referee’s report, the four players had no case to answer and were free to continuing playing. However, not so lucky was the Toomevara member who was named by the referee as the person who assaulted him. Tony Delaney was handed a 48-week suspension for his involvement, and being a very active member of the Toome senior team, will be a big loss to them when it comes to defending their county title.