Donegal are expected to appeal Paddy Campbell's four-week suspension to the Disputes Resolution Authority. The county board executive were discussing the issue last night.
A DRA hearing will need to be convened in the coming days as Donegal seek their full back's availability for Saturday's All-Ireland quarter-final against Cork.
Donegal would appeal on a number of technical grounds, including a misapplication of the suspension rules by the central disciplinary committee. Donegal claim the player should have received eight weeks, not four, for striking Derry's Enda Muldoon in the groin during the Ulster semi-final on June 18th. "We have been abused by the authorities," said county board chairman Charlie O'Donnell yesterday. "We were very aggrieved by last week's actions. The rules were not properly applied, as Paddy should have received eight weeks.
"Also the delay of 23 days before we received a letter notifying us of a hearing is unacceptable. Then there is the extremely selective use of video evidence. Far worse incidents have occurred this year yet gone unpunished."
It may seem a little hypocritical for Donegal to be appealing Campbell's ban on the grounds that the rules were misapplied by him not being given a more severe suspension. O'Donnell and team manager Brian McIver were still keen, however, to play down the incident, which led to Muldoon retaliating and getting sent off and subsequently receiving a four-week suspension that contributed to Derry's exit from the championship at the hands of Longford.
"It was a misdemeanour that looked worse than it was," continued O'Donnell. "Enda Muldoon overreacted but it was unfortunate for him too as he had just committed a foul and appeared frustrated. It wasn't a premeditated act by Campbell.
"If I felt Paddy Campbell had discredited the association or Donegal we wouldn't be supporting him. There has been a hell of a lot of worse cases. We sat down and looked at the incident frame-by-frame and it only lasted a quarter of a second."
Campbell's suspension dates back to the Ulster final on July 9th, his last game, and ends at midnight on Saturday.
The belated use of video evidence in the cases of Campbell and Wexford's Matty Forde have seen the GAA receive a barrage of criticism recently but the management committee and every disciplinary branch discussed procedures recently before reporting to Central Council last Saturday.
One of the main aims now is to ensure a seamless transfer to the new disciplinary system that becomes law on January 1st.
