Maughan fury over Mortimer ban

MAYO manager John Maughan last night blasted Croke Park’s Central Disciplinary Committee for their “lack of consistency” in penalising players for wrong-doings, and suggested that Mayo were now perceived as a “soft touch”.

Maughan is furious that the committee had to wait until Wednesday night to issue a suspension to one of his star players, Trevor Mortimer, arising from an incident in the Connacht final defeat to Galway.

A four weeks suspension from the date of that game rules Mortimer out of tomorrow's fourth round Football Championship qualifier against Cavan in Dr. Hyde Park for which there has been a change of referee.

John Bannon has not recovered from the injury he received when a player ran into him during the Limerick/Derry qualifier and he has been replaced by Wexford official Tomas Quigley.

"Trevor is a huge loss, he's one of our best players,'' commented Maughan. "To lose a player of that magnitude weakens our hand.

"To be honest, I did not anticipate it. We had been preparing with him in all the trial and challenge games we played since the Connacht final and to discover this (Thursday) morning that he would not be available to play on Saturday leaves a lot to be desired.''

Muaghan said he was "very disappointed" the case hadn't been dealt with earlier, because that would have given them the opportunity to plan without him.

Instead, he had been included in the team forwarded to Croke Park for the match programme. "Had we not named the team by 12 o'clock on Wednesday the County Board would have been fined. In hindsight, that was a futile exercise.

"The other thing I have a problem with is that we seem to be 'taking the rap'. There has been no consistency this year with CDC hearings.

"I am not condoning foul play and we will take our punishment in Mayo, as we have done in the past. It's the lack of consistency which troubles me. I don't know how many players were cited this year, but we have seen guys quite clearly strike, and what have you.

"It just seems we are seen as a soft touch and that would be regrettable and unfortunate if that were the case. But, I am left with no alternative other than to suggest that is the case.''

Maughan pointed out that Mayo's record for sportsmanship was not open to question and that Mortimer had never got a "straight" red card before. In his particular case, there were "mitigating circumstances" and he presumed they were probably taken into account.

Meanwhile, Peter Canavan has been cleared to play in Tyrone's qualifier game against Monaghan on Saturday week.

However, team-mate Ryan McMenamin's availability for the game could be in doubt after being charged, along with the Armagh pair Paul McGrane and Ciaran McKeever, arising out of incidents in last week-end's Ulster final replay.

Along with Canavan, the team's top scorer Stephen O'Neill had his red card rescinded.

His involvement in the Monaghan game was guaranteed either way, on the basis that Cork referee Michael Collins sent him off for a second yellow card offence. However, Collins admitted the following day that he had erred because O'Neill had not been carded before the incident which led to him being dismissed.

Clare manager Anthony Daly will be banned from the sideline for the Guinness All-Ireland hurling semi-final against Cork on August 14. Daly is being excluded from the pitch because of having been "previously been cautioned and following unauthorised pitch encroachments" in last Sunday's game against Wexford.

The issue relating to the two Cork hurlers who wore sponsorship logos on their boots in last Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-final has not come before the Committee so far.