Carlow board to discuss incidents at abandoned game

AS the hurlers of Kilkenny continue to celebrate, footballers in two parts of Carlow have found themselves in hot water.

Two rival GAA clubs face the threat of hefty fines, even suspensions, at a county board meeting tonight to discuss a row which forced a referee to abandon a weekend football game.

Carlow GAA county officials will gather tonight with players, team officials and others after a referee was forced to call time early when violence erupted on the pitch on Saturday night last.

Referee, John Conway, is well-known in counties Laois and Carlow. But he faced one of his toughest challenges when he was forced to abruptly end the minor football championship semi-final between Tinryland and Rathvilly at Dr Cullen Park in Carlow on Saturday night.

Play was suspended just four minutes from the end of the game when a row broke out. It began on the pitch but a number of substitutes are also alleged to have joined in.

Match officials were unable to separate the rival teams, despite the intervention of others. Thankfully, no-one was injured in the melee. But the county board is tonight expected to take a tough stance on the matter.

Tommy O’Neill, secretary of the County Board, said officials would be meeting tonight to discuss what he described as the “serious nature” of what happened.

The match featured “a lot of serious incidents”, he said and these would have to be explained by players.

After the referee abandoned the game, stewards were forced to segregate the players before they entered the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms.

Tinryland players remained on the pitch as Rathvilly players made their way to the dressing rooms. When the final whistle sounded early, Tinryland were leading 2-9 to 0-2.