Ulster University have been fined €2500 and former Tyrone All-Ireland Under-21 winner Ruairi McGlone has been hit with a three-match Higher Education GAA ban following the All-Ireland Intermediate colleges football final defeat to University of Limerick in March.
UU have been found guilty of fielding an ineligible player in that game, namely McGlone, with team mentor and Derry native Barry Dillon also suffering penalties.
Dillon was charged with fielding McGlone when he was ineligible, and with ‘misconduct considered to have discredited the Association.’
Following a date with the Central Hearings Committee on 26 April, all charges against McGlone and Dillon were deemed to be proven, although the pair do have the option to of taking their case to the Central Appeals Committee (CAC).
McGlone, Tyrone’s minor captain in 2013, was also charged with a striking offence and according to University of Limerick sources, one of their players was left with serious facial injuries following the 0-11 to 0-06 win in Abbottstown.
Dillon received eight and 12-week bans, to run concurrently, while McGlone’s penalties on three separate charges resulted in a three-match suspension, plus eight and 12-week bans, also to run concurrently.
McGlone was found guilty of ‘playing for a team for which he was ineligible’, misconduct and striking with the hand.
For fielding an ineligible player, Ulster University received a €2500 fine.
McGlone, who won an EirGrid All-Ireland U21 medal in 2015, also lined out in the Sigerson Cup for Ulster University this year and, consequently, was not eligible to play in the intermediate competition.
