Expulsion from Championship likely
for Garryowen
The controversy surrounding the Garryowen club’s alleged fielding
of an unregistered player continues to rumble on this week, threatening
to further delay the London Senior football championship.
Arising from last week’s meeting of the special county board committee
formed to investigate the claims against Garryowen, it is believed that
the London senior club will be charged with giving misleading evidence
to the committee.
County Board sources told the Irish Post this week that if Garryowen are
found guilty of that offence they will be expelled from the London Senior
Football Championship and senior officials of the club will be suspended
from the GAA for up to a year.
It is thought extremely likely that Garryowen will appeal any suspension,
delaying the London Senior Football championship.
The current confusion began when Garryowen played Harlesden Harps earlier
this year and fielded a player who they claim was from the Renard club
in Kerry, but it is now alleged that the player came from Aghada in Cork,
where he had played for his home club.
The County Board allege that the transfer wasn’t ratified until
six days after the Harlesden match, meaning the player wasn’t registered
for that game, playing an unregistered player is an offence punishable
with expulsion from the championship.
Garryowen initially refused to recognise the authority of the investigating
committee at last Wednesday night’s meeting, when the hearing finally
got underway, more than an hour late, the player arrived to say that he
was from Kerry.
A letter from the Kerry County Board secretary was then read out, stating
that the player in question was unknown to the Renard club and has never
been registered with any club in Kerry.
County Board officials remain confident that they can prove the player
is from Cork, but rather than pursue that avenue, they
will first investigate Garryowen for allegedly misleading the inquiry.
Both offences carry the same punishment.
This saga is the latest in an almost annual series of controversies which
disrupt the London Football championship. Garryowen have in the past been
stripped of the county title for playing unregistered players, while Kingdom
Kerry Gaels were expelled from the championship a number of years ago
for the same offence.
With Garryowen understood to be keen on pursuing every avenue of appeal
open to them, including the DRA, this is a saga which could run and run,
leaving the Gaelic Football players of London unable to take the field
for the competition they have spent the whole year preparing for. |
