Offaly are to await the referee's report before deciding on a course of action following the injury inflicted on Finbar Cullen during Sunday's National Football League match against Dublin. Cullen was punched in the face by a Dublin player and lost three teeth which had to be retrieved and forwarded to the hospital.
He has suffered severe nerve damage to his gums and it was unclear yesterday whether the re-implanting of the teeth will be successful in the long term. Although he has been treated as an out-patient, Cullen is still recovering and will now miss Edenderry's Leinster club championship match against Dublin champions Erin's Isle next weekend.
County manager Tommy Lyons confirmed that Offaly would be deferring a decision until later in the week. "The official line is that Offaly will be awaiting the referee's report to the GAC. I can't say any more in advance of that, but I think you can take it that Offaly will defend their players. I've spent five years not allowing fellas to throw boxes and anyone who does should have to pay the price."
The incident took place just over 10 minutes into the second half and the culprit was seen by several spectators, but not by the match officials. Referee Paddy Russell toured both his linesmen and the two umpires nearest to the stricken player but evidently, they hadn't seen what had happened.
Should Russell's report to the GAC contain no reference to what happened, it will be open to anyone to bring the matter to the committee's attention.
Sean O Laoire is permanent secretary to the GAC and outlined the procedure. "We would have to be officially notified and then the matter can be investigated and according to the findings, a charge can be levelled. There have been situations in the past where incidents that weren't seen by a referee were raised afterwards.
"In the 1992 All-Ireland semifinal, Dave Foran (Dublin) and Tom Morrissey (Clare) were both suspended on the basis of video evidence although the incidents weren't mentioned in the referee's report."
There is a further and more direct precedent. Back in 1990, in a League match, Derry's Damien Barton was involved in an incident with Damien O'Hagan of Tyrone. It went unseen by the referee, but Tyrone complained to the GAC and after an investigation, Barton was charged and suspended.
It will be apparent by the end of the week whether Offaly take the same route to deal with Sunday's incident.
The death has occurred of former Clare hurler Pascal O'Brien (51) after a serious illness. A member of the Eire Og club in Ennis, he kept goal for the county prior to Seamus Durack's arrival on the county scene. He retired at the age of 25 and his last competitive match was the 1971 Railway Cup final when Munster were defeated by Leinster.
