Connolly clash not noted by match officials
THE incident that saw Diarmuid Connolly poke his finger into the chest of linesman Ciaran Branagan is understood not to be included in referee Sean Hurson’s match report. The Central Competitions Control Committee will meet today to consider what action, if any, to take in response to the incident in Saturday’s Leinster quarterfinal in Portlaoise, which could land Dublin ace Connolly with a 12-week ban if charged with ‘physical interference of a match official’. No action was taken during the match, allowing the CCCC to decide if a charge is merited. However, if the incident is not referenced in the report it will strengthen Connolly’s hand in the event of contesting a charge as he can argue that he can hardly have committed such an offence if the official involved did not consider his actions to have constituted ‘physical interference’. The outcome of the meeting could have a significant impact on Dublin’s bid for a third All-Ireland title in a row, with Connolly facing being sidelined until the All-Ireland semi-final on August 27. Meanwhile, Armagh and Down are waiting on the outcome of today’s meeting, with players likely to face bans as a result of a brawl in the closing minutes of their Ulster quarter-final.
ÉAMONN Fitzmaurice insisted yesterday that Kerry had ‘nothing to hide’ as a result of Brendan O’Sullivan’s doping breach revelations.
The Kerry manager spoke publicly for the first time yesterday since it emerged last week that panellist O’Sullivan had served a seven-month ban, over two separate time periods, as a result of an inadvertent use of a contaminated supplement.
The saga has seen some criticism directed at Kerry, with claims that they should have come clean earlier with the details.
‘The legal advice we were given from the start was that you couldn’t state anything until the process was finished,’ explained Fitzmaurice yesterday.
‘We had a statement ready to go on this since last July. I think there was a bit of commentary this week about why it wasn’t released earlier, were we hiding something?
‘It’s the exact opposite. Our hand was forced because of the report being leaked.
‘I think that’s a huge question — why and how and who leaked it?’ queried the Kerry manager, who also revealed the details of how the news was initially broken to O’Sullivan.
‘Brendan was notified May 12th [2016] at 10 o’clock in the morning, he got a phone call — “you failed a drugs test and by the way you’re banned for four years”.
‘I didn’t read that anywhere this week. Sport Ireland rang him to inform him that under WADA regulations he was banned for four years.
‘It was clear straight away what the problem was — the contaminated product — because everything else that he would have taken would have come through the set-up.
‘His suspension was suspended once we had proven it was a contaminated product. Sport Ireland were happy that he hadn’t cheated, he was a victim of circumstances.
‘It took us 11 weeks to prove it was contaminated. Why everything takes so long in these things, I can’t understand.
‘We heard nothing for the rest of the year and on the 21st of December at 5.30 in the evening, Brendan O’Sullivan gets a phone call to say, “You’re suspended for seven months and Happy Christmas, by the way”.
‘That’s how come the thing went into a second season,’ explained Fitzmaurice, who was also adamant that the rest of the Kerry players were unaware that their team-mate had failed the test.
‘When the legal advice came that it had to be kept under wraps until the process was finished we could not tell the other players then because the circle gets too big.
‘The circle was tiny, that was why it did not come out. That’s no reflection on the Kerry players, that is just human nature.
‘The reason we had no concerns that the others players might take some of the contaminated product was that as manager of the team my first concern is for the welfare of Brendan O’Sullivan, but [also] the welfare of every player that is inside with us both on the pitch and off the pitch.
‘The reason we were not concerned was that the product Brendan took was not prescribed in any way by us. He went and got this because he did not like the taste of caffeine gels. I think that what happened to Brendan, and he hasn’t told me this, but that as it was his first year in the Kerry panel he did not want to make an issue of the gels.
‘We alerted the players once this contamination became apparent that you don’t take anything that does not come from inside the camp and if you are thinking of going outside please consult the nutritionist or doctor.
‘They got a refresher on that but the players were not told about Brendan.’