Mullagh club members are due to meet this Wednesday evening to decide what course of action they should now take following a meeting last night at which bans were proposed on four of their players. The outcome of tonight's meeting could shed some light on when the county hurling final will take place — it will go ahead on Sunday week if the Mullagh club decide to take no further action.

However, if they decide to take their appeal to a higher authority such as the Disputes Resolution Authority over the staging of their controversial semi-final loss to Loughrea, then the county final meeting of All-Ireland champions Portumna and Loughrea could drag on for weeks.

Mullagh claim that their semi-final game against Loughrea should be declared null and void as Galway Hurling Board chairman Miko Ryan, who resigned last week, was suspended when he presided over the fixtures committee which arranged the match.

Last night four Mullagh players and two officials — including former All-Star and RTE Sunday Game analyst Pete Finnerty — were due to appear before a Hearings Committee of Galway Hurling Board in relation to incidents during and after their semi-final clash with Loughrea.

The Competition Controls Committee of Galway Hurling Board has already proposed bans of 48 weeks on three players in relation to incidents which allegedly occurred at the end of their semi-final meeting with neighbours Loughrea.

The match ended in a furore when Loughrea were awarded a match-winning free in the dying seconds of injury-time which they converted to win by a point two weeks ago.

Match referee Christy Helebert, who stated in his report that he had been assaulted by players striking him with their hurls, had to remain on the field for about ten minutes afterwards before being escorted to his dressingroom by Gardai.

The Galway CCC has proposed the minimum bans of 48 weeks on three players — former Galway senior squad member Conor Dervan, wing-back John Rafferty and Davey Glennon, an All-Ireland minor winner in September — but these suspensions could carry a maximum of 96 weeks.

A spokesperson for the Mullagh club said the players vehemently deny striking or assaulting the referee. Cathal Hardiman, who was sent off during match, faced a suspension of eight weeks with former Galway player Nigel Shaughnessy of Loughrea also hit with an eight weeks ban after being sent off in the same incident during the match.

Two officials of the Mullagh club, David Glennon Snr, a father of minor star Davey, and former All-Star Pete Finnerty, a selector, both faced four-week bans for verbal abuse, with the Mullagh club hit with a €200 fine.

A date for the county final has not been fixed as the appeals process could continue for several weeks with Mullagh considering bringing their case to the Croke Park Hearings Committee or the Disputes Resolution Authority. Portumna are bidding to become the first club in either hurling or football to win three All-Ireland club titles in a row but by Sunday week will be five weeks without a competitive game.

There is no Connacht club championship so the winners of the Galway championship will be able to go on to the All-Ireland series after Christmas — provided, of course, that the county final has been played by then.

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