Joe Canning has described the GAA’s disciplinary process as a “joke of a system” after three players had suspensions thrown out.
Canning’s fellow Galwayman Cianan Fahy and Clare duo Rory Hayes and Peter Duggan are all free to line out in Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-finals despite being proposed for suspensions by the CCCC for incidents arising out of their respective provincial final defeats to Kilkenny and Limerick earlier this month.
All three had their cases heard by the Central Hearings Committee on Wednesday night and saw their bans quashed on technical grounds, with Fahy escaping a two-match suspension, one more than the Clare pair.
Each of the flashpoints involving the three players were singled out on television though the Sunday Game highlights programme in particular has seen its analysis panned for focusing on incidents from the Munster final where only Clare players were the alleged guilty parties.
Many feel that it contributed to Hayes and Duggan finding themselves in the dock, with Canning saying that the analysis “annoyed me and I think it annoyed a lot of people in Clare”.
The former Galway star said: “I just thought myself that it seemed to be all Clare’s side and nothing about Limerick. Now maybe there was nothing about Limerick but if you’re going down that road, I think you have to be impartial and have to give both sides.
“Do I agree with it? The guys got suspended and then they got off on a technicality. It’s a bit of a joke of a system really and it’s not the first time. That’s happened numerous times before.”
Although the Clare pair ultimately earned a reprieve, Canning felt that the decision to propose a suspension for them in the first place undermined what he felt was an excellent performance by referee John Keenan.
He continued: “I thought it was probably one of the best refereeing performances I’ve seen in a long time because he added to the game and then for it to come back that night and highlight those instances, it kind of tarnished his performance in a way and I didn’t like that side of it.
“We give out enough about referees and stuff like that but in fairness to him I thought he couldn’t have done a better job on the day and those instances, it’s grand, you see it on a TV screen but when he’s in action, obviously he didn’t see it.
“I’m sorry for John in the sense that it tarnished his performance, if you get me, because I thought it was one of the best games in a long time and John Keenan added completely to that.”
Bord Gáis Energy has created 32 limited edition GAA County Pride t-shirts where county pride meets pride in supporting the LGBTQI+ community. The t-shirts are on sale from today at hairybaby.com for €20 and all proceeds will go to Focus Ireland to support young members of the LGBTQI+ community who are experiencing homelessness.
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