Douglas chairman and secretary facing 48-week suspensions

The fallout surrounding proposed lengthy suspensions handed out to 16 championship-winning minor players and seven juvenile club officials has extended to Douglas GAA’s senior club.

The chairman and secretary of Douglas have now been hit with their own 48-week proposed suspensions arising out of the controversy.

They now join the chairman and secretary of the juvenile club, and the five members of the minor management team, in facing potential 48-week bans.

The senior chairman and secretary had only been ratified to continue in their roles at an AGM last Sunday, but their future participation in the running of the club has now been placed in doubt.

As with the 16 minors and seven juvenile mentors already facing proposed suspensions, Douglas GAA club intends to appeal all 25 cases.

Rebel Óg East had recommended the suspensions be imposed due to the ineligibility of the Douglas team which won the region’s U18 Division 1 Football League final recently.

The proposed suspensions would see the players receive 12-week bans from all GAA activities, including schools competitions such as the Corn Uí Mhuirí, as well as involvement in Cork underage panels.

Douglas competed in, and won, the Premier 1 Championship and league competitions earlier this year, which are run by the Rebel Óg central committee.

Rebel Óg East said that according to GAA rules, having played in the Premier competitions, the Douglas players were not eligible to play at a lower grade in the same season.

If upheld, a 48-week suspension for the five members of the minor management team, who are also Douglas senior players, would see them ruled out of playing for their club for the majority of 2020.

Douglas reached the semi-finals of the Cork SFC this year, losing to local rivals and eventual champions Nemo Rangers.

The same suspensions for the four club officials, two each from the senior and juvenile sections of the club, if upheld, would rule them out of any involvement in the administration of the club until the suspensions were served.

The appeals will be heard by a Cork GAA hearings committee, which will decide whether to impose the proposed sanctions or otherwise. Appeals against the original 23 proposed suspensions have yet to be heard.

Douglas beat Aghada 2-14 to 2-12 in the Rebel Óg East League final on November 13, to complete a clean sweep of minor competitions.

Meanwhile, a travelling party of 27 players flew out from Dublin to Abu Dhabi yesterday on the five-day PwC All Star hurling tour.

The touring panel is made up of 2018 and 2019 All Stars and nominees and also includes a number of representatives from the Champions 15 team.

There are players from 13 different counties in the travelling party, with the feature event scheduled for the Zayed Sports City on Saturday afternoon where exhibition hurling and camogie matches will be played by local players before a game between the visiting All Star teams.

Five players travelled from All-Ireland champions Tipperary — Padraic Maher, Noel McGrath, Cathal Barrett, John McGrath, and Seamus Callanan.