Farney fury at unfair punishment

Monaghan secretary Seán McKenna has hit out at the GAA’s decision to take home advantage off them during the league following what he terms “a scuffle” with Kildare.

McKenna believes the decision made by the Central Hearings Committee (CHC), without any Monaghan representative present, contravened the official guide and the punishment was a complete overreaction based on other incidents around the country at that time.

“The referee reported ‘As the half time whistle blew a scuffle started involving players from both sides’,” he wrote in his annual review.

“Arising from that reported ‘scuffle’ [the] CCCC proposed a €5,000 fine on Monaghan County Committee. In my opinion this was totally unjustified. Their overreaction I believe stemmed from another club championship game and from other outside influences.

“Monaghan requested a hearing to state their case and appeared before the CHC. This committee invented a penalty that is not listed in the official guide and dictated that Monaghan would have to play Louth at a Louth venue.

“Monaghan appealed their decision to CAC (Central Appeals Committee). They failed to see the error of the CHC decision and unsurprisingly backed the CHC (Central Hearings Committee) decision.

“We were left with the only option of referring the matter to the DRA (Disputes Resolution Authority). The DRA found in Monaghan’s favour in what was blatantly obvious from the beginning. The matter was referred back to the CHC. They again imposed a penalty not prescribed in the official guide where Monaghan were instructed to play Galway at a neutral venue. It should be noted that the second hearing was conducted in the absence of any Monaghan representation.”

McKenna admitted he had been a supporter of the GAA’s disciplinary process and defended it on many occasions. However, he felt the process merely penalised supporters.

“Coiste Chontae Mhuineacháin was punished for an infraction that they didn’t commit. Supporters, especially those who bought season tickets allowing for three home and four away games, were punished for ‘a scuffle’.

“The Rules Advisory Committee in reviewing the DRA decision advised that only penalties prescribed in the official guide be proposed or imposed and that advice was adopted by Central Council.”

The Monaghan official also produced figures which showed they brought in €7,837 on the gates when they played Galway in 2011 but that figure dropped to €3,225 when the game was moved to Clones.

“This showed a drop of 59% on gate receipts on same fixture in 12 months. Maybe it wasn’t such a clever decision after all.

“The other concern in this three-week period was the fact that senior GAA figures made public comment on this matter before it had concluded. I feel this was grossly unfair and exerted undue influence on the decision makers.”

McKenna also issued a warning to Monaghan clubs who were failing to show respect to referees.

“There has been a developing trend this year in that the respect and courtesy towards our referees has dropped. The figures are there for all to see in the CCC report — Disciplinary Record. It is up to the individual clubs to take responsibility for the actions of their members.

“Failing that, we are in freefall, and will find that players, supporters and officials will turn away from our games as they do not wish to be associated with these individuals.”

Meanwhile Frank Brady was ratified as Monaghan senior football manager for next season along with his selectors: Mick O’Dowd and Noel Marron and team trainer Ross Corbett.