Wexford football manager JJ Barrett was at the centre of a major controversy last night after reports emerged that he had struck referee Michael Curley in the aftermath of Wexford's defeat in Cavan.

As the movers and shakers of the National Football League jostled for places in the lucrative knock-out stages, a number of players received their marching orders, including two in the Cavan-Wexford Division 2B game in Breffni Park and three in Pairc Ui Rinn, where Dublin's Ciaran Whelan and Paul Croft and Cork's Michael O'Donovan were sent off.

But it is Barrett who is at the centre of the biggest storm. He was appointed manager last autumn and the team had progressed well, entering the weekend's final series of matches in contention for promotion to Division One. They were leading by two points with time nearly up when Curley awarded a penalty to Cavan for a foul on one of their forwards.

Ronan Carolan converted the kick and there was no time for any further play. The referee was surrounded by an angry Wexford contingent including Barrett and in the middle of the remonstrations, the manager struck out at the official and was seen to hit him.

Whereas there will be sympathy for Wexford and the agonising way in which they were denied an historic elevation to football's top flight, the Games Administration Committee is unlikely to view Barrett's actions indulgently.

Rule 137 (b) (3) provides for a 12-month suspension for any type of assault on a match official and also that the offender's team be liable to disqualification. Whether the latter provision would be enforced is open to doubt. This year's National Football League is now over for Wexford and it would be fairly severe of the GAC to ban the county from next year's competition.

The matter will become clearer when Curley's report is received by the GAC. There may be no need for an investigation if the incident is fully recorded in the report.

Curley is one of the GAA's most senior officials and last year took charge of the All-Ireland semifinal between Kerry and Kildare, was Ireland's official in the International Rules series with Australia and refereed his second All-Ireland minor final.

Referee Aidan Mangan's report on the Dublin-Cork game could also have huge implications for Dublin's Paul Croft. The referee indicated that he was sending him off for kicking and if that wording is included in his report, then Croft would likely receive a three-month suspension which would rule him out of the rest of the National League and also force him to miss Dublin's opening provincial championship match against Louth.

Manager Tom Carr wasn't amused by the young defender's dismissal, Croft's second of the league campaign. "He will suffer personally. He had made a place on the team, and he has lost it as and from today," said Carr.

Kildare, the Leinster champions, will meet Dublin in a league quarter-final - a rematch of their provincial encounter last year.

The other quarter-final matches won't be confirmed until after Armagh play Leitrim in an outstanding league match.

Yesterday's controversies will be most unwelcome for the GAA as they are the latest in a catalogue of indiscipline which has come to public attention since the new year - most recently the attack on Westmeath goalkeeper Dermot Ryan in the dressingroom tunnel at half-time in the game against Wicklow.