Three-month ban for Cliftonville's Rory Donnelly
Striker will be suspended from July 30
Cliftonville striker, Rory Donnelly has been suspended by the IFA after being charged with a regulations breach.
His three-month ban begins on Monday (July 30) with half of the sanction suspended until the end of the season.
It means the 26-year-old misses the first six weeks of the Reds’ Danske Bank Premiership campaign beginning on August 4.
In a statement released last night, the IFA said Donnelly was charged with a breach of Article 17 regarding “behaviour that damages or could damage the integrity of matches and competitions.”
The statement in full said: “The Irish FA Discipline Committee this evening held a sanction only hearing involving Rory Donnelly of Cliftonville FC. Mr Donnelly was charged with a breach of Article 17 of the Articles of Association as evidenced by a breach of Regulations 45 and 46(c) of the IFA Football Regulations which state:
- All persons bound by IFA’s rules and regulations must refrain from any behaviour that damages or could damage the integrity of matches and competitions and must cooperate fully with the IFA at all times in its efforts to combat such behaviour.
- The integrity of matches and competitions is violated, for example, by anyone:
C) who uses or provides others with information which is not publicly available, which is obtained through his position in football, and damages or could damage the integrity of a match or competition.
“The charge was accepted therefore the Discipline Committee considered submissions made by the club in mitigation, both verbally and in writing.
“Taking into account the actions of the club but also the potential seriousness of the incident, the Committee made the decision to suspend Mr Donnelly for a period of three months from Monday, 30 July 2018 with half of the sanction suspended until the end of the 2018/19 season.”
Meanwhile, Cliftonville have the right of appeal under Article 14 of the Articles of Association.