Officials fume as O’Brien escapes three-game ban

GAA officials were fuming yesterday as the disciplinary case against Dublin footballer Kevin O’Brien collapsed because of the absence of key witness Paddy McBrearty of Donegal at Thursday night’s Central Hearings Committee meeting.

O’Brien was accused of biting McBrearty in a recent Allianz League Division 1 game in Ballybofey, after which the Donegal player was brought to Letterkenny General Hospital for medical treatment.

Though Dublin rejected suggestions McBrearty had been bitten, with county chairman Andy Kettle stating the Dublin team medic had suggested the wound was “a bruise, not a laceration,” the case eventually reached the Central Competitions Controls Committee (CCCC).