Mc Govern assailant’s 96-week ban infuriates Duffy
Fermanagh footballer Mc Govern was knocked unconscious in a San Francisco senior championship game seven weeks ago and only emerged out of a coma in the past fortnight.
The off-the-ball incident led to an outcry in GAA circles sparking a rift in the Bay Area that will be further exacerbated by what many of Mc Govern’s teammates view as a lenient punishment.
However, Eamonn Gormley, who headed up the San Francisco Competitions Control Committee, defended the decision pointing towards a thorough investigation of the incident.
“Both clubs co-operated fully and we were fully satisfied about the investigation. It was the maximum penalty and we believe that it was a fair outcome.”
But Duffy slammed the ruling, saying that it was not consistent with other GAA suspensions.
“It doesn’t seem fair,” Duffy told the Irish Examiner yesterday.
“There have been a couple of cases where an official has been injured in games and it’s led to life bans. Mark has a brain injury, we don’t know the long-term consequences, he nearly died and yet they only give this guy a ban of less than two years. It makes no sense to me.
“There’s no equity. Mark’s medical bills are over a million dollars and that’s no exaggeration. His family are over from Ireland. The whole thing has been awful.
“At the end of the day, Mark is improving. We can be grateful for that.”
San Francisco police had named Power as a “person of interest” but have so far failed to find anyone able to provide a witness statement.
Investigators turned up at last Thursday’s meeting of the two sides, who meet again tonight at Treasure Island in the last of the round robin games.
It’s proving to be a busy year for the Western Divisional Board as they prepare for the North American County Board play-offs in the Bay Area over the first weekend of September, while the GAA’s hurling All Stars visit later this year.
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