Waterford defender Tadhg de Búrca is bracing himself for a proposed one-match suspension from the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee, after he was sent off in Sunday’s All-Ireland senior hurling quarter-final victory over Wexford.
Sweeper De Búrca saw red late on following an off-the-ball tangle with Harry Kehoe and referee Fergal Horgan is making reference to the incident in his official match report.
De Búrca will then be cited for a category III (iv) infraction, specifically ‘behaving in any way which is dangerous to an opponent, including deliberately pulling on or taking hold of a faceguard or any part of an opponent’s helmet (in hurling).’
The minimum penalty for such an offence is a one-match suspension in the same code and same level, leaving De Búrca ineligible for Waterford’s All-Ireland semi-final clash with Cork on August 13th.
De Búrca's Waterford team-mate Stephen Bennett was found guilty of a similar infraction following a clash with Cork's Damien Cahalane in the Munster SHC semi-final in June.
Waterford decided not to contest the charge and Bennett sat out the round 1 qualifier victory over Offaly.
Last Sunday, Horgan took action on the advice of his linesman, Wicklow's John Keenan, before brandishing a red card.
And with the offence now reported in black and white, it’s highly unlikely that an anticipated Waterford appeal will prove successful.
De Búrca does have the option of taking his case to the GAA’s Central Hearings Committee (CHC) and if the ban is upheld there, Waterford will consider the subsequent Central Appeals Committee (CAC) and independent Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) avenues.
Options open
Speaking to local radio station WLR last night, selector Eoin Murphy said that Waterford are "keeping their options open".
He recalled: “It came as a bit of a shock. The ball was gone elsewhere, the next thing the ref stopped the game and before we knew it, Tadhg was red-carded and coming off.
"It was a blow for Tadhg and the team. I just saw it for the first time on The Sunday Game and it looked innocuous enough, to be honest.
“The linesman was close to it and he made the call on it. In fairness to Tadhg, we all know there’s not a dirty stroke in him, he’s a pure out and out hurler. I think he was just trying to shake him [Kehoe] off, whatever little bit of a tangle they were in.
“There was no malice in it whatsoever from what I could see. We’re keeping our options open at the moment. At this moment in time, we have to plan without Tadhg because he got a red card, which means a one-match suspension.
“But we’re looking at all options. Once the sanction comes in, we’ll review it and see what our next steps are.”
