Every few weeks, we have to take a regrettable journey to the GAA rule book.
A place where your tongue could cost you more than your saliva.
A place where a Derry club player could miss three years of championship over a two-match match ban.
A place where you could tickle the referee and sit out for 12 weeks but elbow an opponent and miss just one game.
One game. For elbowing another player right across the face.
The official sanctions for a player caught striking with an elbow are as follows:
(1) Minimum: A One Match Suspension in the same Code and at the same level applicable to the next game in the combination of the National League/Inter-County Senior Championship, even if the game occurs in the following year.
(2) Minimum on Repeat Infraction: A Two Match Suspension in the same code and at the same level applicable to the next games in the combination of the National League/Inter-County Senior Championship, even if one or both games occur(s) in the following year.
So, in theory, Diarmuid O’Connor could’ve broken Paul Conroy’s jaw, potentially ended his season and affected his personal life and he’d be punished by missing a round one qualifier match. Some people are arguing about the intention of the connection but whether you thought it was deliberate or not, swinging high elbows need to be weeded out of the game urgently and shown a zero tolerance approach.
But, as it stands, O’Connor could serve just a one-match ban for the unsavoury incident in Castlebar on Sunday.
On The GAA Hour, Colm Parkinson labelled the challenge disgraceful.
“That was a filthy, filthy challenge. With Conroy’s hands down, he nearly took his head off with an elbow,” Wooly said.
“That’s disgraceful.
“You could’ve broken his jaw and had him out of work. That’s not good enough.”
And, whilst Meath man Cian Ward tried to look at it from all angles, he reasoned that O’Connor should be hit with a bigger ban than one match.
“What he did was totally over the top in terms of aggression. To be honest, that tackle was so dangerous, he should get a three-month ban. He really should,” Ward said.
“If you put yourself in the perspective of a tackler and you come in and put your hands out to try and tackle the ball and then a guy just loafs you with an elbow, you’re totally unprotected.
“I would’ve had sympathy for Diarmuid O’Connor – he was after being fouled and he saw Conroy coming in at pace, if he had just stuck his arm up, like a forearm to protect himself and Conroy runs on into it, then you can just say there was no malicious intent. But what he did was he really swung the elbow and he followed through very heavily – with the elbow, not just getting the arm up or sticking the hand out.”
Listen to the full debate below.
