Mayo All-Star suspended for two rounds of National League

by Aiden Henry

THE fallout from Mayo’s All-Ireland senior football final defeat to Tyrone last September lingers on with the news that All-Star midfielder Matthew Ruane will miss the two opening games in the National Leagues against Donegal and Monaghan.

This results from his being sent off late in the final.

It has only come to light in the last number of days that Ruane received a two-match suspension after he was dismissed by match referee Joe McQuillan.

The Breaffy player was sent off after an altercation with Tyrone’s Conn Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick was yellow carded for the incident, while Ruane was deemed the aggressor and was shown red.

It appears that after the Croke Park disciplinary committee handed out a two-match ban to Ruane, neither the county board or team management acted to have the sanction against Ruane appealed.

Had the two-match ban been appealed it may have been cut to a one-match suspension.

Perhaps the suspension handed down to Matthew Ruane got lost in the fallout from the All-Ireland final defeat.

Whatever the case, Mayo face into the season without the services of Ruane for the two crucial opening National League fixtures against Donegal in Sligo and Monaghan in Clones.