Irish appeal opens DRA disciplinary minefield

A FAVOURABLE judgment from the Disputes Resolution Authority — after a player’s name included in a referee’s report was not given in Irish — could have wide-ranging implications for the GAA’s disciplinary process at county, provincial and national level.

The player, from the Clongish club in Longford, received an eight-week suspension after he was reported by the referee for alleged verbal assault.

But a last-minute reprieve enabled him to play an important game on Sunday.

En route, he brought his case to the Leinster Council last Thursday night — and lost — and then a DRA panel met in Dunboyne on Saturday morning to consider it.

Understandably, Longford County Board were not pleased by the DRA ruling, with a spokesman commenting: “I thought the days of an appeal succeeding on the basis of a technicality were gone.’’

Nationally, the ruling could have serious implications, but the National Referees’ Committee will wait to consider the full judgement before deciding on what action, if any, should be taken in future.

Referees are very much aware of the importance of signing their reports in Irish, but the idea of including the names of players in Irish would be seen as a new departure. The vast majority of players — except, perhaps, native speakers — would give their name in English when requested by a referee.

And, interestingly, on the DRA website, notice of past hearings include names of the parties concerned in English and, separately, others totally in Irish.

The background to the Longford case is that the player concerned was a spectator at a game his club was playing in the final round of league games. At the time, he was injured and unable to play. Following incidents after the game and the receipt of the referee’s report, he and two others were notified of proposed suspensions.