Derrytresk consider options as seven players to miss final

Derrytresk will be without seven players for Sunday’s All-Ireland Club JFC final following a mammoth disciplinary hearing at Croke Park.

However, the Tyrone club are considering contesting the GAA’s recommendation to ban them from representing their county at provincial or national level for years.

Derrytresk, led by Tyrone solicitor Fergal Logan, had questioned the proposed suspensions handed down to eight of their players arising from the controversial semi-final win over Dromid Pearses.

Tuesday night’s Central Hearing Committee (CHC) meeting at GAA HQ, which finished up close to 4am yesterday, found the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) were wrong to recommend an eight-week punishment to centre-forward Joe McKee who is now clear to face Galway’s Clonbur in Sunday’s Croke Park decider.

His team-mates, Kevin Campbell, Michael Robinson, Sean Slater and Brian Gavin, all had their original bans reduced to four weeks. But the quartet, along with three unnamed subs, will miss the final now that Derrytresk have accepted the suspensions.

However, the club have been stunned by the competition prohibition placed on them outside of Tyrone. Although they saw their fine cut from €5,000 to €2,500, the CHC imposed a ban on the club from all provincial and All-Ireland club games for the next five years.

The fine and the bans are the punishment for what the GAA disciplinary chiefs defined as the “disruptive conduct by players, team officials and supporters (not causing the premature termination of the game)“.

The CHC placed a number of restrictions on Derrytresk for Sunday’s game. Only the Derrytresk manager Paul Hughes, designated temporary secretary, doctor and physiotherapist can enter the pitch area before the game, at half-time and following the final whistle.

Water carriers will be provided by the CCCC, while the temporary secretary must remain in the stand with the substitutes for the duration of the playing time and only Hughes will be permitted on the sideline.

Derrytresk have the Central Appeals Committee and the binding Disputes Resolution Authority options available should they wish to challenge their competitions ban further. Campbell and Slater were found to have “behaved in any way which is dangerous to an opponent“, Robinson “contributing to a melee” and Gavin “attempting to strike”.

Dromid Pearses have yet to be given a date for their CHC hearing concerning their €2,000 fine and three player suspensions. However, they hope to have their fine at least reduced in foot of Derrytresk’s being halved