Fines and ban proposed after Mayo-Galway fracas

Both counties set to be hit with €4,000 fine as selector McEntee faces two-month ban

MAYO selector Tony McEntee has been hit with a proposed two-month suspension while Mayo and Galway County Boards have been fined €4,000 after an investigation into last Sunday’s prolonged flashpoint between the rival players in their Allianz Division 1 league match in Salthill.

McEntee has the facility to seek a hearing for the proposed charge under rule 7.2(c) which governs misconduct by team officials.

Clare footballer Gordon Kelly is facing a proposed three-month ban for an alleged incident with an umpire during their Division 2 draw with Tipperary.

Meanwhile, an internal audit of Galway GAA’s financial affairs, ordered by the new treasurer Mike Burke, is to be completed by St Patrick’s weekend. The audit is expected to focus on broader financial administration issues.

The audit, ordered by Burke who took over at convention last December, is separate to a report compiled by a three-man committee who last year found anomalies in the manner that gate receipts were reconciled at various grounds around the county.

HEALTHY

Galway GAA’s balance sheet was shown to be in a relatively healthy state at convention last December when a profit, before depreciation, of €418,773 was recorded compared to €79,421 the previous year.

The headline team administration expense was down over €60,000 to

€1,295,639, while fundraising streams were up considerably on the back of an All-Ireland hurling final appearance.

The county also enjoys one of the more lucrative sponsorship deals around with Supermac’s estimated to put in €345,000 to Galway GAA directly (including branding and fundraising contributions) with add-ons such as contributions to expenses, clubs, schools and promotion, bringing their overall GAA spend to over €500,000.

But beyond that considerable debt has built up with the purchase of land for development of a training centre at Mountain South. That figure, owed to Central Council, is estimated to be at

€2.6m. That’s on top of ticket money, still owed to Croke Park, dating back to 2015.