MOOREFIELD PAIR COULD FACE PRESENTATION PROBE

IT was one of the typically joyous pictures from the busiest county final days of the year as Moorefield captain Daryl Flynn and vice-captain David Whyte (below) waved the Dermot Bourke Cup after a great win over Celbridge in the Kildare senior football decider last Sunday.

Flynn and Whyte were both sent off in the first half but their colleagues responded brilliantly to the challenge of being two men short for 40 minutes, running out two-point winners.

Winning with 13 players made Moorefield’s success all the more noteworthy, but as Flynn and Whyte shared in the delight, they may not even have been aware of a rule which prohibits players dismissed in a final from participating in the presentation ceremony.

The penalty? “An additional one-match suspension in the same competition in the following year’s competition.”

The straight red cards picked up last Sunday will rule Flynn and Whyte out of Moorefield’s Leinster quarter-final clash with Rhode (Offaly) or Portlaoise (Laois) next month and they could also miss the first round of next year’s Kildare championship if the county board decide to take action.

In all probability, the vast majority of players – and probably quite a lot of administrators too – are unaware of the rule which prohibits dismissed players from participating in the presentation ceremony. Indeed, the question arises as to why it’s in place, since it serves no real purpose.

While Flynn and Whyte were dismissed on straight red cards, the rule states that any player sent off in a final is barred from participating in the presentation ceremony.

That includes someone who picks up a black card for a relatively minor offence. — MARTIN BREHENY