Donnellan not cited in the referee's report

The Michael Donnellan controversy took a new turn yesterday with the announcement that he has not been cited for any offence by referee Tommy Gavin. A statement was released by the Galway county football board yesterday morning. It referred to events at last Sunday's county championship replay between Dunmore McHales and Corofin.

In a disturbance after the match, referee Gavin was floored. However the referee's report, presented to Thursday night's meeting of the county football board, did not name any player in connection with the matter.

The meeting ran on until 2.0 in the morning and yesterday morning the following statement was released:

"The executive of the Galway football board met last night, Thursday, 27th May, and dealt with all referees' reports on hand including the replay of the Dunmore McHales-Corofin senior football championship match.

"Regarding the report of the referee on (this) match, the disciplinary committee of the Galway football board will deal with the incident which took place after the game and in which no player was involved.

"The executive of the Galway football board directed the disciplinary committee to deal with incidents which took place during the game."

All referees' reports on the night were adopted.

When a referee's report is inconclusive in relation to an incident, the relevant disciplinary body may order an investigation. That ordered by the Galway football board appears to have been limited to non-players in respect of the incident after the match.

Football board chairman Pat Egan was, however, more ambiguous in his reading of the disciplinary committee's remit. "The meeting was unanimous that we would call in the two clubs to investigate the matter. No player was mentioned in the referee's report."

Did that mean that players could be investigated in relation to what happened after the match?

"As far as we were concerned, no player was named but we'll see what comes up in the investigation."

Could that include what players did after the match?

"No player was named in the referee's report but the disciplinary committee have been given powers to investigate incidents during the match and after."

After the controversy of the week, there was relief in Galway at the news that Donnellan, 1998 Texaco Footballer of the Year, has not been put in danger of a six or 12-month suspension.

Egan was scathing in his attack on the media coverage of the controversy.

"He was hanged, drawn and quartered. Some didn't even write about his football, they wrote about something else entirely. He's a great footballer who gets a lot of stick on the field and I have never seen him step out of line."

Yet the allegations of his involvement with the referee had been very widespread.

"I accept that but I'll guarantee you most of them came from people who weren't at the match at all. I was at Tuam myself and didn't see the incident but I talked to a guy who could tell me what was said. And he wasn't even there."

There had been a number of unsavoury incidents during the match in which two players were sent off and this is believed to be the reason for the specific terms of reference received by the disciplinary committee.

He added that the board had to deal with the facts as they were presented and denied that the referee had been under any pressure. "The facts start with the referee's report. We never talked to the referee or had any dealing with him. He refers to an incident after the match but there was no trace of any Dunmore man in the vicinity.

"Video evidence is very important and all that was seen on video was the referee on his knees after the incident. And we checked the video well."

He expressed sympathy for all those involved.

"It's been a terrible time for the referee and a terrible time for Michael Donnellan and his family. Nobody deserves that. You could murder people and not get that sort of press."