The ruling was part of the fallout from July's explosive MacAulay Cup semi-final between Newtonmore and Fort William, in which unruly scenes saw Inverness referee Callum Duff come under fire from supporters of the Badenoch club.

A repeat of the behaviour which culminated in the grade one referee resigning will mean Newtonmore facing the most severe penalty handed out to a club in several years. It will act as a warning to all other clubs to keep their management, players and supporters in order. Two players, Newtonmore's Glen MacKintosh and Fort William's Adam Robertson were red carded before Newtonmore went on to win 5–3 after extra-time. The clubs meet again in round one of this season's competition. The sentence has done little to placate Duff, who insists he will never don the black strip again. "I am sickened by the whole affair and this week I actually threw my uniform in the bin.

I am finished with refereeing for good even for kids' games," he said. "As far as I am concerned the punishment looks like a whitewash and I think they have tried to brush the whole affair under the carpet.

"Why has it taken the Camanachd Association nearly six months to hear the case? It is a disgrace and they appear to show little support for the referees.

"I love shinty and hope to continue my involvement in the sport with my old club Beauly, where I intend to get involved in coaching."

Duff, who refereed this season's MacTavish Cup final between Glenurquhart and Kingussie, will be seen as big loss to the game.

His resignation means three top whistlers are ruled out of the 2009 season with Donnie Fraser retiring and Duncan Kelly joining the coaching staff at Lochaber. Meanwhile, the Camanachd Association has confirmed some key dates for the 2009 calendar.

The Marine Harvest Festival of shinty gets a new slot in May — much earlier in the season than normal. Marine Harvest are the sport's longest-serving sponsor but their gala day has had a troubled existence, often being dogged by wet weather and a certain apathy as shinty followers have failed to support the event in large numbers.

By moving it to a much earlier date in the season the hope is that the event will be significantly more attractive with the prospect of better weather. The event was one of four matches televised by the BBC last season and it is understood the cameras will once again be at Spean Bridge.

There will also be a "Champion of Champions" match on Sunday 22nd February at a venue to be decided. The format has yet to be finalised, though it is thought it will involve Camanachd Cup winners Fort William against the Premier Division champions Kingussie.

The decision to play the match on a Sunday marks a significant departure for the Camanachd Association and risks confrontation with religious groups. It almost certainly rules out Bught Park as a venue, with the Inverness club known to oppose Sunday shinty.

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