Alan Tynan Suspended for the Crime of Intent !!
By Noel Dundon
You’d have to laugh at it all really, wouldn’t you. Well, what else could you do?
Tipperary senior hurler Alan Tynan had his red card in the Allianz National Hurling League game against Kilkenny upheld as he was accused of ‘behaving in a way that was dangerous to an opponent’. Really? There was no contact in the tackle but the Central Hearings Committee still found it to be dangerous – it seems that there was intent in his attempts to tackle.
That suggests- and rightly so- that he missed. So, what would have been the outcome had he actually made contact? A suspension? But hang on, has Alan Tynan not just been suspended anyway?
You would have to have a certain degree of sympathy for referee Sean Stack and his linesman, who was only a few feet away by the way, in that they had to make their decision in real time, with no recourse to replays or anything like that. But, the CHC had plenty of footage of the incident and still they saw fit to suspend. Now there’s where the problem is.
And by the way, if there was ‘intent’ but no contact, should there not be mention made of the Oscar winning performance of the stricken Cat? Simulation is a term used in soccer to suggest diving – how long before we see this coming into the GAA as a common phrase? Oh please spare us – we don’t need those kinds of theatrics on the hurling field.
Alan Tynan will take his suspension – what else can he do but miss the game with Clare next weekend. The injustice of it all reminds me of the suspension handed out to Jason Forde a few seasons ago in the same venue following an ‘altercation’ with Wexford Manager Davy Fitzgerald who had wandered onto the field of play.
Common sense does not appear to be in plentiful supply when it comes to the CHC and Tipperary has had a fair share of injustices handed down in recent enough times. Let’s hope that’s the end of the card madness, though I doubt it. What will be interesting to see, is if the frequency of yellows and reds continues into the championship. Often the rules over-imposed in the league are forgotten come the white heat of championship.
Mixed bag for footballers
It was a real mixed bag of fortunes for the Tipperary footballers with the U20’s securing another win in their campaign, but the seniors losing a seven point second half lead in Wexford Park to the hosts, to lose by one. Philly Ryan’s men put in a marvellous performance and led going into injury time against the fancied home side which had already been promoted. But, they were sucker punched when Wexford levelled and then secured the points with a 73rd minute winner. The Wexicans had dominated the last twenty minutes and Tipp were just unable to hang on to secure a point.
The other side of the coin saw the U20’s snatch a winner late on with a fisted point in FBD Semple Stadium resulting in them taking the points and their second win of the championship. A right good game of football, this Tipp side has plenty to get us excited about and there is certainly a conveyor belt moving in the right direction towards the senior panel in time to come. Next up they have Waterford, while the seniors have Wicklow in their final game at home.
Hurlers entertain Clare
Clare come to FBD Semple Stadium on Saturday evening for the final round of the league knowing that Tipperary are in the final while the All-Ireland champions are unexpectedly propping up the bottom of the table.
It has been a difficult league for Clare but they still turned over Limerick and they will fancy their chances in Thurles too if they can get their act together – there will surely be backlash following the rather dismal last outing where they showed little appetite for the battle.
At least from a Tipp perspective, Limerick are out of the final running following their defeat at the hands of Kilkenny, and the prospects of the sides meeting in consecutive games is now off the table. Trouble is, Kiely and co will now be focusing fully on the April 20th showdown whereas Tipperary’s attention will be split between league and championship.