THERE’S BAD NEWS for the Clare hurlers ahead of Sunday’s must-win visit to Kilkenny. 2013 All-Ireland winning defender Brendan Bugler has been hit with a two-match suspension following his red card against Dublin at Cusack Park last Saturday.
Bugler will sit out the crucial clash with the Cats at Nowlan Park, as the Banner men aim to stave off the threat of a relegation play-off. And the Whitegate colossus will also miss Clare’s next League outing, which will either be a relegation shoot-out with Kilkenny or a quarter-final tie.
Bugler was reported for “attempting to kick with minimal force” but chose not to accept the proposed penalty. A CHC statement reads: “As this represented a repeat Infraction, the Committee imposed a two match suspension in the same code and at the same level, applicable to the next games in the National League or Inter-County Senior Championship.”
Clare must beat Kilkenny on Sunday and hope that Galway defeat Dublin to squeeze into the top four places and stay out of the bottom two. Bugler’s leadership skills will be sorely missed in the Kilkenny city cauldron and the combative wing-back took to Twitter following the Dublin victory to insist that all is well in the Clare camp despite the recent departures of Davy O’Halloran and Nicky O’Connell.
Meanwhile, Dublin star Denis Bastick has seen this black card against Kerry downgraded to a yellow card:
http://bcove.me/m1g846h8
Bastick was ordered off during the two-point loss following a clash with Kieran Donaghy. The midfielder appealed the decision and GAA chiefs confirmed this morning that, after studying video evidence, they are satisfied that Bastick didn’t deliberately pull down his opponent.
A CHC statement reads: “The Hearings Committee found that the video evidence provided was sufficiently compelling to prove that the Defending Party (Bastick) did not deliberately pull down an opponent; however, it found that a lesser infraction of rough play had occurred. The Committee directed that the original fixed penalty for the cynical behaviour infraction be set aside.”
