Tipperary will challenge the proposed suspension for centrefielder Jason Forde before the GAA's Central Hearings Committee, which is likely to meet this week, while Wexford have announced that hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald has accepted the eight-week suspension proposed by the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee.
Forde, who played in the county’s big league final defeat by Galway on Sunday, faces a two-match suspension (the minimum for ‘any type of assault of an opposing team official’ under the Category IV infraction in Rule 7.2) and if the CHC decides against him, he will have to serve it in the coming Munster championship against Cork and should Tipp win, in the semi-final against Waterford.
This arose from incidents in the AHL semi-final between the counties in Nowlan Park on April 16th, when Fitzgerald entered the pitch and clashed physically with opposition players Niall O’Meara, who didn’t get involved, and Jason Forde.
The deadline for Wexford to seek a hearing was Monday morning and it has been decided to accept the suspension, which runs from the day of acceptance and so will expire at midnight on Sunday June 19th, a week after Wexford – should they win a quarter-final against one of the preliminary round-robin qualifiers – are scheduled to play Leinster champions Kilkenny.
The Wexford statement reads:
“The County Board, and all Wexford GAA supporters, are fully supportive of Davy Fitzgerald as our senior hurling manager. Wexford people fully understand that Davy brings 100% commitment and a real passion to his coaching and it is this which makes him such an outstanding manager. We are very proud of the tremendous work he and his backroom team have put into the senior hurling squad. That work is already bearing fruit with promotion to Division 1A achieved and a real spring in the step of all GAA followers in the county.
“It is considered that the penalty imposed for Davy’s pitch encroachment is harsh and that arguments could be made for a lessening of the penalty. Indeed, it is not unknown for other similar penalties to have been nullified after appeals and legal processes. However, this decision has been reached after detailed discussion with Davy and is being taken in the broader interests of the game and of the senior hurling team. In accepting the penalty, the focus of attention can now turn elsewhere and the GAA family in Wexford can return to strengthening our games and our teams.”
