Setanta Ó hAilpín faces an uncertain future in Australian Rules football following a training ground bust-up today. Ó hAilpín , who could yet be sacked by his club, has been suspended indefinitely by the Carlton Blues.
Click here for video footage of the incident
The former Cork hurling All Star has been ordered to take an anger management course after clashing with teammate Cameron Cloke during a training match. Ó hAilpín punched and kicked Cloke in the scuffle, with the latter action being described as “a poor act” by his coach Brett Ratten.
“Setanta’s actions were totally unacceptable, on or off the field, and we are bitterly disappointed in the incident with Cameron Cloke,” said Carlton chief executive Greg Swann in a statement.
“He is aware that such an incident is completely unacceptable and, in particular, is a poor example to junior footballers.”
Ratten accepted that training ground incidents are part and parcel of any contact sport but was particularly disappointed that the 25-year-old would kick an opponent.
“I think in practice matches, if you go through history, and training in general there's all the argy-bargy and the odd hit here and things like that - but that is not a part of our game,” he said.
"I could believe the push and shove - and I think players first up, there's a lot of anxiousness in trial games and things like that so blokes do overstep the mark a little bit.
"But that action of kicking is not on. You even felt in the game it was pretty hard and physical, and that came over the whole ground
"You looked around and there were a lot of jaws open to say, ‘did that really happen?'"
A repentant Ó hAilpín has since apologiesd to Cloke, who is understood to have accepted the gesture in typical Aussie fashion.
"Stuff happens," was the Australian’s reported response. "I'm over it mate. Let's move on."
Kicking a player, not least when he has already been felled by a punch, is viewed as a cardinal sin in the Aussie code and Ó hAilpín could have his contract torn up.
The 25-year-old is entering the final year of his current deal with the Blues. Having joined the club in 2004, Ó hAilpín has had mixed success in Melbourne. After a promising start, his career has petered out of late as he failed to nail down a starting role. Indeed, he has managed just 46 games in four seasons.
His younger brother, Aisake, was let go after three seasons at the club last year without ever making a senior appearance.
Carlton star Brendan Fevola, who was himself involved in a spot of bother in a Galway hotel during the 2006 International Rules series, was one of the peacemakers during today’s fight.
And the full forward admitted the incident was one of the more unusual he has witnessed on a football field.
"It was pretty rare," he explained. "I just said, 'Go have a shower, man, and cool off a little bit'. It's pretty unfortunate, but hopefully we can deal with it pretty quickly and then just get on with it."
* Video and images courtesy of the Herald Sun
