Dubs boss Ger Brennan may avoid immediate 12-week ban after red card

The Blues manager and a Galway backroom member were dismissed during Sunday's game.

SIDELINED: Dublin’s manager Ger Brennan watches on from the stands after being red-carded. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie

Dublin manager Ger Brennan may avoid an immediate 12-week suspension arising from his sending off in Sunday’s Division 1 defeat to Galway.

Galway’s strength and conditioning coach Cian Breathnach McGinn could also escape the punishment due to an anomaly in the GAA Official Guide.

Both men were shown red cards by referee Fergal Kelly before the start of the second half. As tempers flared between the teams as they left the field for half-time in Pearse Stadium, Brennan removed Breathnach McGinn’s earpiece and pulled his jersey as the Galway management team member went to ground. Brennan appeared to take exception with Breathnach McGinn who had pushed Dublin player Brian Howard. It was the second half-time flashpoint in the space of eight days involving Dublin after Armagh’s Jarlath Óg Burns was black carded following heated exchanges in Croke Park last Saturday week.

Following receipt of Kelly’s match report, the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) will later this week issue notice of proposed penalties to Dublin and Galway.

Both infractions would appear to fall under Rule 5, Category IVa “misconduct at games by team officials” where “any type of physical interference with an opposing player or team official”, which carries a minimum 12-week ban and a two-match suspension but most significantly in the same competition.

For Category II and III infractions, penalties incurred in either the National League or championship can be served in both competitions.

Alternatively, the CCCC may choose to hand down Category IIa (ii) disruptive conduct punishments to Brennan and Breathnach McGinn, which would likely result in one-match bans for the pair.

For Brennan, that would incorporate Dublin’s Leinster SFC quarter-final against Carlow or Wicklow on April 19. Breathnach McGinn risks missing Galway’s Connacht semi-final against Leitrim or Sligo on April 25/26.

As part of a new rule introduced in 2023, if their penalties are match-based, Brennan and Breathnach McGinn may not be permitted to assist their respective teams before as well as during the game(s).

If their punishment is time-based, they are prohibited from “managing, directing, assisting, or communicating with the team in any way during the period of the time-based suspension.” Speaking following Sunday’s loss, which confirmed Dublin’s relegation to Division 2 in 2027, Brennan admitted he deserved the red card. “Look, myself and the Galway mentor, small coming together and silly stuff from us, and Fergal was correct to give us both a red card. We shouldn't be doing that.”