Referee Long will be back in action soon

BY DENIS HURLEY

CARBERY divisional board PRO Donal McCarthy believes that referee Alan Long will be back in action soon and has praised the efforts of those who tended to him when he took ill last Saturday.

Argideen Rangers clubman Long was refereeing the Tadhg Crowley Cup final between Valley Rovers and Clonakilty at Ahamilla last Saturday night when he collapsed early in the second half. 

Quick action by the medical teams of the two clubs, and paramedics led by Dr Jason van der Velde, saw him quickly dispatched to Cork University Hospital, where was operated on. He is now in recovery and McCarthy believes that he will be on the pitch again before too long.

‘I met Alan on Tuesday night and he was in good spirits,’ says McCarthy, who is also the Carbery referees’ administrator.

‘Great credit has to go to both clubs, who had first-aid people on hand, and Dr Jason, who provided great treatment. One of Alan’s umpires, Seamus Crowley, took over as referee then.

‘It’s great that Alan will make a full recovery as he has shown himself to be a top referee. He has done two junior A football finals here in West Cork and a county U21 final too so he was heading on the right track.

‘We’d hope to see him back shortly and obviously we wish him, his wife Karen and his family the best during the recovery process.’