Dublin Institute of Technology have been told Ballymun Kickhams player Seán George could face a lengthy suspension if he plays against holders Dublin City University in this afternoon’s Irish Daily Mail Sigerson Cup semi-final at Athlone IT.

George, superb for Kickhams in last Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final victory against Dr Crokes, will not be risked today as it has emerged the defender may have fallen foul of Higher Education GAA rules relating to eligibility.

Even though George did not attend a previous course at Waterford IT, DIT’s information is he may have been registered there nevertheless.

And as George has played for IT Carlow, and is a current DIT student, he would therefore be deemed ineligible under the same “three course” rule that saw DCU pair Aidan Walsh and Michael Boyle banned from taking part in this year’s competition.

A DIT source revealed: “We don’t know fully the rulebook point of view but he (George) is not going to play. We’ve been threatened that if he does play, he could face a heavy suspension.”

George appeared as a substitute against NUI Galway in the preliminary round clash on February 5th but no retrospective action is possible, as any objection would have had to be filed within three days.

George did not play in the quarter-final victory against NUI Maynooth last week because of weekend club commitments.

And while Kickhams boss Paul Curran would have made George available for the Sigerson weekend, it is understood DIT discovered as recently as last Monday that, if he played, he could be open to suspension.