Cork manager Ronan McCarthy mulls over next move as ban appeal fails

Cork football boss unsuccessful in his case to Croke Park's Central Appeals committee

APPEAL BLOW: Cork manager Ronan McCarthy has been unsuccessful in appealing his three-month ban to Croke Park's CAC. Picture: David Fitzgerald, Sportsfile

Cork football manager Ronan McCarthy will wait for the written report from his unsuccessful Central Appeals Committee hearing before deciding whether to take his case against a 12-week ban handed down by Croke Park all the way to the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA).

McCarthy had his case heard by the GAA’s CAC Monday night, when he argued strongly against the three-month suspension imposed under Rule 7.2 for ‘discrediting the Association’.

The ban arose from a Cork football ‘team-building’ exercise on Youghal Beach in early January — during the winter training shutdown.

However, the Irish Examiner has confirmed that the appeal to a CAC hearing, under the chairmanship of Donegal’s Julie Galbraith, was unsuccessful. Both he and Down boss Paddy Tally were sanctioned under the Rule 7.2, though Tally had his ban commuted to eight weeks at a Central Hearings Committee meeting recently.

McCarthy had already failed in his appeal to the CHC and is clearly frustrated at both the sanction and its inconsistency. Public reaction to the ‘illegal’ gatherings has soured on the back of national lockdown restrictions, and the GAA is taking a strong line on alleged breaches of the training ban.

Though in theory the bans are unrelated to Covid breaches, the current environment undeniably makes it a consideration.

Cork’s session in Youghal on January 2 was deemed in breach of the rule which precludes collective training outside the window. McCarthy’s ban began on February 18, meaning he can have no active involvement with the squad until the middle of May.