Third man into melee will see red, warns Barrett

Ahead of what’s expected to be a tense Connacht quarter-final between Mayo and Galway on Sunday, a warning has been issued that footballers involved in melees in this year’s championship will be sent off.

Referees development chairman Willie Barrett let it be known at a media briefing yesterday that the third man in and so on will be punished, accordingly.

Often it is the case that match officials are unable to identify those players so as to penalise them, but at a recent pre-championship seminar, the 18 football referees for this summer’s matches have been told to crack down on Rule 7.2 (b), Category III (vi) offence, “contributing to a melee”.