Huge 96-week ban for guilty party in Limerick County Final confrontation

The supporter who encroached onto the pitch to confront a player during Sunday’s Limerick County Football Final has been handed a whopping 96-week ban by Limerick GAA.

Dromcollogher-Broadford supporter Martin Stokes, who entered the field of play to confront Newcastle West’s James Kelly, was hit with the ban following a meeting of Limerick GAA’s Competitions Control Committee (CCC) last night.

Stokes, who is the father of Dromcollogher-Broadford midfielder Jason, entered the field to confront Kelly, who had been sent off for a second yellow card offence in stoppage time at the end of the game.

Dromcollogher-Broadford were desperately trying to secure an equalising point at the time of the incident so the game carried on while it was taking place and they eventually earned the draw and the sides will meet in a replay on Friday evening.

According to the Limerick Leader, Dromcollogher-Broadford are set to receive notification of the ban this morning and Stokes has three days to appeal. There have been no further suspensions handed down as a result of incidents that arose during the game.

Unfortunately, this is the latest in a long line of incidents involving crowd trouble in the GAA, the most infamous of which occurred during the meeting of Tyrone side Derrytresk and Kerry outfit Dromid Pearses in the All-Ireland Junior Club Championship at the beginning of the year.

These sorts of incidents are unsightly, have no place in the game and the less we hear of them in the future, the better.