Diarmaid Byrnes handed a one-match ban for a striking offence

Byrnes clashed with Jason Flynn at the final whistle, an incident which was not seen by referee James Owens nor his officials, and the Central Competitions Control Committee proposed a penalty.

Thu, 20 May, 2021 - 11:01

John Fogarty

Diarmaid Byrnes will miss Limerick’s Division 1, Group A clash against Waterford in Walsh Park after receiving a one-match ban.

The two-time All-Ireland winner and 2020 All-Star has chosen to accept the suspension for a striking offence in the defeat to Galway in Salthill last weekend.

Byrnes clashed with Jason Flynn at the final whistle, an incident which was not seen by referee James Owens nor his officials, and the Central Competitions Control Committee proposed a penalty.

The Patrickswell man had up to today to contest the punishment with the Central Appeals Committee but Limerick will not be exercising that avenue.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner earlier this week, Limerick manager John Kiely retracted his post-match comments about Galway players simulating fouls in Sunday’s game. “At the time I was of the opinion that I had seen an incident that I wasn’t happy with: It was late in the game and very much to the forefront of my thoughts after the game.

“But over the last two days, I’ve been going through the video footage of the game and have had a very clear sight of those incidents I referred to. The bottom line is that what I thought I had seen was absolutely not the case.

“I wish to wholeheartedly retract those comments with regard to Galway and to apologise for them. It’s important that I set the record straight now that I’m certain that what I saw was not what I believed I had seen.”