Martin Cole gets four week suspension

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

if true its a fuckin disgrace,  he shrugged off the tackle, no intent watsoever.  sure he got booked for it,  thought there could be nothin done when ref takes action.  complete sham!!!

Sorry, whatever about the dubious mechanics of this suspension, but that's total bollix; he knew exactly where his elbow was going.

the back of his hand hit him not his elbow

Sorry, more tat: I was very close to the incident, and it was no 'back of a hand'. You don't throw an elbow to 'shrug off a tackle'.

[Main Street]

Cole lashed out with intent, I wouldn't know how much but it wasn't all good.
He looked to have retaliated to a heavy enough punch from Harte, therefore the yellow from the ref on the spot was about right.

I thought he made contact with his fist or hand.

[Maguire01]

This is being done for consistency - which is good to see.

Whilst it didn't appear as bad because it happened during play, rather than a break in play, it was obviously intentional, and them's the rules. Also, it did appear a lot worse second time around, when slowed down a bit.

[Pangurban]

If the Ref. had blown Harte up for hanging on to Cole this incident would not have occured. Disgraceful decision to suspend, there was clearly no intent. Wonder if Dublin, Kerry or Cork would be treated in the same manner, if the past is anything to go by we know the answer.

[Maguire01]

If the Ref. had blown Harte up for hanging on to Cole this incident would not have occured. Disgraceful decision to suspend, there was clearly no intent. Wonder if Dublin, Kerry or Cork would be treated in the same manner, if the past is anything to go by we know the answer.

So why did his hand go up? It's clearly not as serious as a strike when play is stopped, but if the opposition kept hanging off him, he'd have been awarded a free.

[bridgegael]

if true its a fuckin disgrace,  he shrugged off the tackle, no intent watsoever.  sure he got booked for it,  thought there could be nothin done when ref takes action.  complete sham!!!

Sorry, whatever about the dubious mechanics of this suspension, but that's total bollix; he knew exactly where his elbow was going.

the back of his hand hit him not his elbow

Sorry, more tat: I was very close to the incident, and it was no 'back of a hand'. You don't throw an elbow to 'shrug off a tackle'.

you may have been close to the incident, if it had have been an elbow his arm would have been bent and not fully stretched. it wa the back of his hand that made contact with harte,  watch it back on tv if you don't believe me.  he shrugged the tackle off, this happens all over the field it was just unfortunate that he mad contact with his nose1

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

OK bridgegael, I haven't seen the replay, and it looked bad to me at the time, I didn't think his arm was fully extended.

Either way, this is a precedent (with Derry's Doherty) that will have to be adhered to strictly from here onwards -- the Committee will have to review every game from here onwards, regardless of who's involved, and regardless of the pontifications of any pundits. And if it is a zero-tolerance policy, then that's to be welcomed, but it must be absolutely beyond reproach in its execution.

[bridgegael]

OK bridgegael, I haven't seen the replay, and it looked bad to me at the time, I didn't think his arm was fully extended.

Either way, this is a precedent (with Derry's Doherty) that will have to be adhered to strictly from here onwards -- the Committee will have to review every game from here onwards, regardless of who's involved, and regardless of the pontifications of any pundits. And if it is a zero-tolerance policy, then that's to be welcomed, but it must be absolutely beyond reproach in its execution.

Exactly.  they have set a precedent now and they must stick by it,  otherwise stay out of it altogether.

[thewobbler]

Fear ón Srath Bán, can I tell you something.

Fearghal Doherty was involved in a clearcut, off-the-ball striking incident, in which his intent to strike an opponent was obvious. but as the referee didn't see it he got off with it. For then.

Martin Cole was involved in a ball-carrying incident in which he used his arm to gain leverage. Unfortunately his opponent got hurt, but there is absolutely no way to prove intent. It was a natural reaction to a footballing situation. This is born out by the tame reaction of Harte and his teammates to the incident. And in this instance, the referee had a full view of the situation and meted out a punishment accordingly.

If you can't see that there is a world of difference between these two incidents, then i'm sorry, but you don't have a fiucking clue.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Where am I equating the two incidents? Rather, the equation here is that the Committee has sat in judgement after the game, to deal with an incident that was deemed (by them) to have been dealt with either too lightly or not at all by the referee at the time.

...then i'm sorry, but you don't have a fiucking clue.

Totally beside the point 

[thewobbler]

Ah feck - apologies, I read you wrong.

Anyway, they are not being consistent here. The ref saw the incident, awarded a free and penalised the player.

They surely cannot go down the road of analysing normal game incidents. Where do they stop - after they have awarded post-match black ticks to every defender in Ireland for shirt holding?

[Bensars]

Whether the decision is right or wrong, RTE and their analysts must now stop showing these incidents ( and spending as much time as full game highlights ).

Trial by media that has gone nuts. This also stops referees being brave enough to make tough calls as this committee will have to remain consistent and intervene  until the end of the championship.

[orangeman]

Whether it was intentional or not, this is a VERY dangerous precedent to set and I'd imagine that this will cause a lot of controversy during the rest of the year - personsally I think this is very harsh.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Anyway, they are not being consistent here. The ref saw the incident, awarded a free and penalised the player.

They surely cannot go down the road of analysing normal game incidents. Where do they stop - after they have awarded post-match black ticks to every defender in Ireland for shirt holding?

Agreed, though I'd say the specific criterion/directive they were working on here was that it was a red cardable offence (rightly or wrongly) that was missed, and that is dangerous, because no game in this Championship should now escape such scrutiny, otherwise they have indeed reacted to media pressure from self-appointed judges. Down have every right to feel deeply aggrieved.

[charlie stubbs]

who will replace cole now??harsh decision