Jim Gavin says that he was told Diarmuid Connolly’s suspension would have been lifted if pursued further

Dublin looked to have left the whole Diarmuid Connolly incident behind them.

Without Connolly, they fared up just fine as they mauled Westmeath to book a place in the Leinster Final after a 31 point win. The whole situation seemed to be done and dusted until Dublin GAA seemingly refused to speak to broadcast media after the win over Westmeath as a result of the coverage given to the Connolly incident. The St.Vincent's man received a 12-week ban for laying his hands on linesman, Ciaran Branagan during their win over Carlow in May. Speaking in the post-match press conference on Sunday, Gavin said that he was told that the case against Connolly wouldn't hold and that his suspension would be lifted. As per FM104, Gavin says,

"It was my decision to pursue with the CHC to get their opinion on it and we’ve received advice from senior counsel that if this went to arbitration that the case wouldn’t hold. "But Diarmuid didn’t want that to happen, he just wanted to move on in the best interest of the team, that’s what he decided."

The Dublin manager was not best pleased with The Sunday Game's coverage of the incident the day after it occurred. "What concerned me was the way (Connolly's) good name was attacked before we even saw the referee's report. "We had the national broadcaster in their post-match review. Both Pat Spillane and Colm O'Rourke, particularly Pat, they had a predetermined statement." https://twitter.com/TheSundayGame/status/871686509404930048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Fgaa%2Fopinion-diarmuid-connolly-received-12-week-ban-leave-126307 Gavin also criticised Sky Sports and was evidently frustrated by how he felt Dublin and Connolly had been treated. "We saw on Sky Sports the rulebook being read out against him," he said. “Supporters have come to me and asked me what is going on and why is this imbalance happening and I’m really kind of struggling to give them a balanced and proportionate answer." "Within 24 hours before the referee’s report was signed off there was, I suppose, not a media campaign but it got a lot of traction in the media and as I said I think his good name and more importantly the right that he has as an individual in the Republic. I think his good name was certainly attacked."