GAA:The Tyrone county board has issued proposed bans totalling 452 weeks following the "unacceptable" trouble that marred the division one league final between Carrickmore and Dromore earlier this month.
Four people from each club involved in fighting in the stand have been banned for a year, while lengthy suspensions were also handed down to three Carrickmore players. Both clubs have also been fined £300, the maximum allowed under county board regulations and banned from taking part in the league play-offs next season.
The Carrickmore players sanctioned are goalkeeper Plunkett McCallan, defender Colm McGurk and substitute Gabriel McCallan. They were handed suspensions totalling 72 weeks. No punishment was handed out to any Dromore player.
Trouble flared at the end of the match in Dunmoyle with fighting on the pitch spilling over into the stand. One supporter is reported to have had part of his ear bitten off in what has been described as a mini-riot.
Members of both clubs appeared before the CCC on Tuesday night while the board studied video footage of the incident.
“After a very thorough investigation involving the full co-operation of both the Carrickmore and Dromore clubs the Tyrone CCC have issued proposed sanctions to both of the clubs arising out of the incident,” the county board said in a statement.
“The proposed bans total some 452 weeks. The individuals concerned from both clubs will be informed by their club secretary. In addition both clubs received the maximum fine under the Tyrone Bye Law and other playing sanctions have been proposed.
“The sanctions proposed by the Tyrone CCC are amongst the most severe ever issued by Tyrone GAA. We thank both clubs for their support in the investigation and are confident that lessons have and will be learnt from the unacceptable scenes in Dunmoyle.”
The violence erupted four minutes from the end of the title decider, which Dromore won by five points to complete the league and championship double; earlier this season a referee was assaulted at a ladies match in Tyrone, which resulted in two lifetime bans being handed out to club members.