Kane fails in ban appeal

DOWN assistant football manager DJ Kane has failed in his bid to have a six-month sideline ban lifted in time to enable him play an active role in Sunday’s Ulster SFC semi-final against Armagh in Clones on Sunday.

Kane, who captained the team to victory in the 1994 All-Ireland final against Dublin, challenged the proposed ban when he appeared before the Central Hearings Committee in Croke Park on Wednesday night, but just like Kerry captain Paul Galvin, he had no luck.

And just like Galvin, who was back in Croke Park last night for the second time this week with an appeal to the Central Appeals Committee, Kane is expected to follow the same route.

The circumstances in which the ban was originally proposed by the CCCC were quite unusual, if not unique. They stemmed from an earlier 16-week suspension which had been imposed for alleged abuse of a referee and which was close to expiring. Then he got into fresh difficulty after speaking to the Down team during the interval break in their drawn quarter-final against Tyrone in Healy Park on June 8.

All going well, he would have been eligible to be on the sideline with Ross Carr for the replay in Newry a week later. But, when it emerged — through published newspaper interviews with one of the team members, who inadvertently revealed that Kane had given them an inspirational half-time address in the dressing room — the CCCC came up with the 24-week proposed ban which has now been affirmed.

In a statement issued from Croke Park, it was pointed that the CHC imposed a penalty of 24 weeks additional suspension ‘arising from his illegal participation, while under suspension.’

Earlier in the week, Ross Carr himself had an eight-week sideline ban lifted after he had taken his case to the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA).