THE two Down clubs involved in a mass brawl last month have not been thrown out of the county championship – but could miss almost a third of their league matches next year.
Ballyholland Harps and RGU Downpatrick's rearranged Division One clash - which took place in Kilcoo on October 7 - was marred by violence, with players from both teams leaving the pitch while supporters were also involved.
Down’s Competitions Control Committee (CCC) originally proposed that both clubs should be excluded from the 2019 championship, with heavy individual punishments also recommended.
However, following appeals by Ballyholland and Downpatrick, the county’s hearings committee has instead handed down 24 week suspensions to the senior teams of the two clubs, with both also receiving fines.
Those suspensions commenced immediately, and would therefore run until the second week of May. The Down league fixtures and dates have yet to be released for 2019, but this year they got under way on the first weekend of April.
If that were to be the case again, both clubs could potentially miss the first six games of their campaign, with 20 fixtures scheduled in a new 11-team Division One.
This year Ballyholland finished ninth of 12 teams while Downpatrick were one place below in 10th. They defeated An Riocht in a relegation play-off to preserve their top flight status.
The CCC had originally proposed that one player should be banned for two years – the maximum sentence under rule - and another for 12 months, but those have been significantly reduced following appeal.
The longest individual punishment dished out is also 24 weeks – and that applies to three players (two from Ballyholland, one from Downpatrick), with a four game ban running concurrent.
The option is still there for both clubs to lodge an appeal with the Ulster Council’s hearings committee.
