The man who pushed a referee to the ground during a Leinster Club Senior Football Championship clash last month has had his ban reduced from 96 weeks to 24 weeks, according to reports.
Referee Barry Tiernan was confronted by the member of Tullamore GAA club following the Offaly club's defeat at the hands of Meath champions Summerhill.
A dramatic end to the affair led to some unsavoury scenes after full time and despite widespread condemnation from both GAA fans and board members, the man's ban has been dramatically reduced.
Summerhill won the clash by two points, but it was a late decision by officials which sparked outrage from the Tullamore camp. In the dying moments of the game, Barry Tiernan awarded a close range free to the Offaly outfit, only to upgrade it to a penalty.
The referee then changed his decision back to a free after consulting with his linesman.
15 January 2023; Referee Barry Tiernan during the AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Intermediate Championship Final match between Galbally Pearses of Tyrone and Rathmore of Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
The Tullamore clubman, who was a member of the panel but not togged out, was the subject of a Leinster Council hearing committee, who deemed the original 96 week ban as too harsh on the culprit.
It is understood that the province's competitions control committee recommended punishment to be cut after concerns over the man's health were raised at the hearing.
Another Tullamore GAA member who was charged with a 48-week suspension for behaviour towards the linesman has had his ban cut to 12 weeks.
The news was first reported by John Fogarty in the Examiner.
GAA: Offaly county chairman slams the incident
Offaly GAA was quick to condemn the incident last month, with county chairman Michael Duignan calling the incident 'disgraceful'.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio One he said:
I saw it myself and I can't deny it, a disgraceful incident,
There was a bit of controversy at the end where the referee awarded a penalty and then it was overruled and obviously the players were frustrated and they were remonstrating.
But there was no danger, the players were well away from the ref coming off the field. The Tullamore team are a very sporting team, just disappointed, which you would be.
But somebody came in from the terrace then and pushed the referee from behind so it was terrible. It's a very, very tough job and I would have had my arguments over the years with refs but you wouldn't dream about laying a finger on a referee.
With a rise in abuse towards officials every year, and social media capturing more moments than ever before, it's something that has to be stamped out of the national game.
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