Lengthy bans dished out after melee

Suspensions totalling 60 weeks have been handed out to players and officials involved in a melee near the end of a recent Meath SHC game between Gaeil Colmcille and Drumree at Longwood.

Referee Marcus Quinn was forced to abandon the match when a number of players and mentors became entangled in a brawl with Kells side Gaeil Colmcille leading by 0-13 to 0-12.

The four Gaeil Colmcille players receiving bans included Conor Ferguson (a prominent referee in the county) and his son Fionn, who were both handed 12-week suspensions. Team-mates Niall Flanagan and John Morris were suspended for eight weeks and two Drumree mentors, Paddy Doyle and Ronan Curley, were hit with bans of 12 and eight weeks respectively.