Davy Fitzgerald is set to receive a four week ban for an incident with referee Liam Gordon at the end of Waterford’s loss to Clare in the Munster senior hurling championship a fortnight ago.
Waterford lost the game by one point and Fitzgerald encroached onto the field to have words with the Galway referee after the final whistle.
A controversial and crucial 65 was awarded to Clare in the game’s last play – it was later revealed as the correct call – and many felt this was the managers’ bone of contention but he has in the mean-time stated that it wasn’t.
Fitzgerald told the Irish Times that his issue at the time was with Mark Rodgers’ goal earlier in the game, where he felt the player had taken too many steps. He admitted that, in retrospect, his view of that incident was wrong.
“I know there were people afterwards saying I lost it with the ref,” he said.
“I didn’t lose it with the ref. He’d tell you that himself. I questioned him on one thing that I was very irate on and it wasn’t the last ball. I was on to him about one incident that I felt strongly about.
“I thought it was six or eight steps, it was probably five or six steps. When you look back, you say okay, right, fair enough,” he added.
The Clare man was adamant in said interview that he didn’t verbally abuse the ref, rather that he just questioned the decision.
“Did I abuse him or use bad language to him? No. I didn’t. But I was very adamant in my point,” he said.
But he is none-the-less set for a four week ban after the incident.
The proposed ban id under rule 7.2 (c) category 11a which covers abusive language or disruptive conduct towards a match official. With Waterford subsequently eliminated from the championship after their loss to Limerick, the ban, if accepted, would total as a one-match suspension at the start of next year’s Munster championship for Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald could also appeal the ban if he felt it wasn’t warranted.
