GAA PRESIDENT AOGAN O’Fearghail is happy that an investigation has been launched into the incident that left Dublin footballer Davy Byrne with a broken nose.
Byrne was attacked before a recent challenge match against Armagh and the GAA has belatedly decided to look into the matter, following a public outcry.
The incident, which occurred in Glasnevin, ruled the defender out of last Sunday’s Leinster final victory over Westmeath.
Referee Fergal Kelly didn’t reference the incident in his match report and both camps attempted to play down the severity of the issue last week.
But the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) has now opened a file on the flashpoint which left the Ballymun Kickhams player in hospital for two nights.
And O’Fearghail, speaking at this afternoon’s launch of the All-Ireland hurling championship at Dicksboro GAA club in Kilkenny, insisted that all GAA games, challenge or otherwise, must be “governed by the same rules.”
“I think every game that is played, whether it is an All-Ireland final or a parish game, a club game, a challenge game or whatever, every game is governed by the same rules, every game is governed by the same principles.
“I certainly have a view that every game has to be followed by the same rules, the same principles and when an incident occurs, if it occurs, it should be investigated in the exact same way for all games, no difference.”
O’Fearghail insists that he doesn’t know what stage the probe is at, and is leaving that work to the CCC.
“I don’t interfere in day to day work of CCC. I appoint them, I expect them to follow our rules and I expect them to implement our regulations so I honestly do not know.
“But I certainly know, I would be adamant about that, every game has to be treated in the same way.
“You can’t have local arrangements and you can’t have a situation where something happens and we think it happened, we’re not sure it happened.
“I wouldn’t have any belief in that. I think our system is quite strong on the principles of investigative procedures and I expect it to happen.”
