Mark O'Connor apologises to Geelong for lining out in Kerry SFC quarter-final
Mark O’Connor has apologised to his Geelong employers for lining out for Dingle in last month’s Kerry SFC quarter-final win over Austin Stacks.
O’Connor was not granted permission to play for his home club in a game in which he was black carded.
He was not available for Sunday’s semi-final draw with East Kerry.
According to the report in Australia, the Geelong Cats only became aware of the matter days after the game.
"It was down to the risk of injury which would then compromise his ability to play and train for Geelong," head of football Simon Lloyd told AFL.com.au about O’Connor, who finished out the season strongly with the Victoria club.
We (told Mark we) cannot provide permission for you to play in further Gaelic football games as it's a breach to his contract.
"To Mark's credit, he acknowledged Geelong was his main priority and that he wouldn't do it again."
The 21-year-old’s telling-off comes after Essendon contracted player Conor McKenna injured his ankle while training with Ireland for last year’s International Rules series.
In recent times, the likes of Hawthorn’s Conor Nash and Geelong’s Zach Tuohy have lined out for Simonstown Gaels and Portlaoise respectively but were granted the go-ahead by their AFL outfits.
