Galway look set to appeal red card shown to Cooney

Galway GAA will appeal the sending off of St Thomas’ Conor Cooney against Offaly ahead of the Leinster senior hurling final at Croke Park on Sunday week, July 3.

Cooney, who was in scintillating form against the Faithful County, scoring 1-3 in the Leinster semi-final, received his marching orders with 11 minutes remaining much to the dismay of the majority of the 6,121 in attendance at O’Moore Park, Portlaoise last Sunday.

The St Thomas’ sharpshooter was shown the 59th minute red card by Cork referee Colm Lyons, much to the bewilderment of the player and everyone else, after the linesman on the far side of the field called the referee’s attention.

In a replay of the clash on RTE’s The Sunday Game later that evening, the incident remained unclear, but it is understood the linesman, who had spoken at length with Lyons, had spotted a loose hurley by Cooney in what can only be described as an innocuous challenge.

As a consequence of the sending off, the minimum sanction that will be imposed on Cooney if the red card is upheld would be a one-match ban, which would sideline him for the Tribesmen’s mouthwatering clash against All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in the Leinster decider.

Galway GAA was awaiting the referee’s report this week and it is understood once they received and reviewed the content of that, they would initiate their appeal. However, it would be next week at the earliest before any hearing would take place.

That said, speaking immediately after the Offaly clash, Galway manager Micheál Donoghue was baffled by Cooney’s sending off.

“I’m the same as you guys, I haven’t seen it. Hopefully it will be caught on television so we will be able to see what happened.

“Obviously the general mood at the minute, we don’t think it was (a sending off), but I don’t want to go commenting on it when I haven’t seen the incident. Hopefully it will be caught on television,” he said.

Indeed, Offaly boss Éamonn Kelly, who had watched his side reduced to 14 men with the dismissal of his captain Colin Egan in the first half, was also at a loss and he believed given the horrendous weather conditions on the day, which saw players struggling to hold onto their hurleys, allowances should have been made.

“The Galway sending off, I don’t know what that was for either. It wasn’t a dirty game. I think common sense needs to prevail in situations like that when conditions are so bad. There wasn’t a dirty belt in the game and it was competitive. I am sure both sides will be taking a look at it to see what can be done to overturn these cards.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.