GAELIC GAMES/ International Rules: Irish players have been officially exonerated of charges of provocation in relation to the violent incidents that dominated last month's second Test of the International Rules series.

That and the five-Test suspension of Australian co-captain Chris Johnson, for his high tackle on Philip Jordan and a subsequent assault on Matty Forde (Johnson wasn't cited for also striking Anthony Lynch), were the main items to emerge from yesterday's tribunal hearing, conducted early in the morning by conference call between Dublin, Melbourne and Johnson in Brisbane.

There had been allegations of low tackles and kicking levelled against Ireland by Australian coach Kevin Sheedy in the immediate aftermath of the contentious Test match but the tribunal decided there was no case to answer. "That was the general view," according to the Croke Park's Games Officer Pat Daly, who represented the GAA on the tribunal.

"We looked at a few things but ultimately decided we would proceed with the one reported incident, Chris Johnson's red card.

"The most common way of launching an investigation is the report from a referee but video evidence is also used and we went through the tape on Monday. There was an incident where Ryan McMenamin had kicked out on the ground but the feeling was that this had been an involuntary action, a reflex to get him off the ground."

Another allegation, that an Australian player had had his testicles squeezed ("squirrel gripping", in the local vernacular) was not pursued, as there was no video evidence to support the charge.

It has also been decided in future red cards will be accompanied by a penalty kick against the offending team and the dismissed player will not be replaced for 20 minutes or one quarter of the match.

There may be some eyebrows raised at the latter reform, as it had become almost a consensus that teams should not be allowed replace a player, who is red-carded. Daly defended the more lenient sanction. "No replacement for 20 minutes is a fairly severe penalty in this game, given the pace at which it is played. If a team was to play a man short for anything like a full match it would create a completely one-sided situation. The trouble with that is that it would almost certainly make match officials reluctant to show a red card."

Any suspicions that the 14-a-side provision might prove difficult to monitor in a game with unlimited interchange taking place nearly every minute would be allayed by the strict policing that takes place in the interchange area and a rule that allows either team stop the game at any stage and call for a head count of players on the field. A team found to have greater numbers on the field than is permitted forfeits all its points on the scoreboard. This happened in a junior international three years ago when the Australians lost a Test because of the loss of points consequent on their being found to be accidentally fielding an extra player.

Johnson's suspension equals the most severe handed down in the international arena. Irish selector Paddy Clarke received the same punishment in 2001 for tangling with AFL umpire Brett Allen after that year's first Test in Melbourne.

The Brisbane Lions player - who has been suspended only once previously in his career - was contrite in a statement read to the tribunal, which also took into account written evidence from Jordan and Forde, apologising to his victims, the Ireland management and the Irish public at large.

"I really want to take this chance to say how sorry I am for my actions in the second Test. To Philip Jordan and Mattie Forde, I apologise sincerely to you guys. I'd like to say to them that I can't believe it was me doing those things - it's not the way that I play the game."

"I would also like to publicly apologise to the Irish coaching staff and the rest of the team. From what I'm told, the incidents got a lot of coverage in Ireland, and I'd like to say I'm sorry to all the people of Ireland who were offended by my actions."

The suspension has almost certainly ended Johnson's international career. It doesn't run out half way through the 2008 series by which stage he will be 32.

The Australian embassy in Dublin sent a communiqué to Canberra last week stating no other issue in Ireland in recent years had "generated this level of negative feeling" towards Australia.

The tribunal was chaired by Melbourne lawyer Richard Loveridge and comprised Kevin Sheehan, from the AFL, as well as Daly.

Meanwhile, Cork hurling captain and Ireland player Seán Ó hAilpín, who is still in Australia on holiday, yesterday trained with his brothers and Carlton AFL players Setanta and Aisake and afterwards gave his reaction to the Johnson incident.

"We're just not used to that rugged toughness of AFL. What Chris Johnson has done, people thought he probably deserved a jail sentence. But in my view, you have got to understand the AFL game. They tackle hard.

"We as Irish people have got to expect it. A lot of people probably hope he doesn't get to play again but to be honest, you have got to realise in the AFL - what Chris Johnson did, if he did that in an AFL game, the other opponent would just get up and play on.

"What I felt should have happened was Chris Johnson to be sent off - which he was - and probably no one to come in to replace him, because you have got to be penalised for an act like that, which we felt that he wasn't (because) someone else came in and replaced him and so we were still 15 against 15," he said.

Ó hAilpín's training run impressed Carlton coach Dennis Pagan: "I wish he was five or six years younger, the way he has come in and the way he's adapted to it, it's amazing really. It really bears testament to his athletic ability to be able to come in and just pick it up on a windy day like this."