 Colm Kearney signed for Larne during the summer |
Colm Kearney has won his appeal against a three-year ban imposed for an incident in a junior match last season. The Larne striker will be available to face Cliftonville on Saturday but will then be suspended until 1 January.
The ruling means that the Inver Park club's leading goalscorer will miss eight matches.
The initial ban had been imposed by the County Antrim FA after an incident arising from a game between Newcastle Seconds and Rosslare last April.
It is understood that Kearney was accused of striking a referee with a ball during the match.
Kearney had been sent-off in the game and sources claim he was playing with a ball near the pitch when a confrontation between him and a Newcastle supporter occured.
The player is believed to have thrown the ball at a spectator but instead it struck the referee as he approached the touchline to ask supporters to stop encroaching on the pitch.
The initial match report didn't cite any particular person involved in the incident that lead to the abandonment.
However, it is understood the Newcastle club later named Kearney during an investigation staged by the Newcastle League.
The player was initially banned for five years but upon appeal the IFA's disciplinary committee lifted the suspension and the Newcastle club was fined �100.
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