IT COMMANDED THE headlines after last April’s league semi-final in Nowlan Park and now two motions are set to come before this month’s GAA Congress in relation to the controversial incident involving Wexford boss Davy Fitzgerald and Tipperary hurler Jason Forde.
Tipperary triumphed in that game against Wexford but the post-match chat was dominated by the incident that saw Fitzgerald rush onto the pitch to remonstrate with referee Diarmuid Kirwan following Tipperary’s second goal before then clashing with Premier duo Niall O’Meara and Forde.
Forde was subsequently slapped with a proposed two-match ban and Tipperary secretary Tim Floyd had expressed his belief in his annual report last December that Forde ‘was just guilty by association’ and suffered due to the high-profile nature of ‘one of the personalities involved’.
Floyd had also revealed his intention to table a motion in relation to the matter.
“The definition of a melee as being a minimum of three people involved is still an issue of contention with me and I’m hoping to have it defined in the GAA Official Guide by passing a motion at our county convention to be sent to Congress for consideration.”
Now Floyd’s club Newport have a motion that will be debated at the upcoming GAA Congress on 23-24 February at Croke Park.
The motion will seek to quantify a melee in relation to GAA disciplinary matters with a melee to be defined as involving a minimum of five persons.
In addition the GAA’s Rules Advisory Committee have tabled their own motion which is seeking to properly define the punishment for those types of incidents.
If passed a one-match ban will be handed out for ‘minor physical interference (e.g. laying a hand on, pushing, pulling or jostling) with an opposing team official either on or off the field of play’.
- Originally published at 16.15
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