two years later on 12 may 1968, kilkenny faced tipperary in the league decider. by this stage the relationship between the counties – rarely one of hurling's most pleasant – had reached an all-time low. previously in a league match in the spring of 1967, pa dillon and babs keating had got the line and a three-month suspension for both ensued. this game really upped the ante between the counties and from the moment len gaynor was tackled by a kilkenny supporter, the game featured some of the most gratuitous violence ever seen at croke park. tipp won the game by 3-9 to 1-13. after much discussion and investigation after the kilkenny game, john flanagan and kilkenny's ollie walsh both incurred a six-month suspension, which meant that both players missed the championship in 1968, or at least the parts that occurred after the suspensions were announced in july. perceived unfair and hyper-critical press coverage led the tipperary county board to withdraw co-operation with certain journalists for the all-ireland final, and the national union of journalists responded by refusing to provide any reports or news concerning tipperary. kilkenny also deferred their county championship until ollie walsh's term of suspension was up.