A 5am thumbs up from the DRA.
Jesus, I’d say this is laughable now if we hadn’t long since pissed ourselves.
Diarmuid Connolly is free to play against Mayo after he punched a fellow footballer. After a referee issued him with a straight red card for doing so. And after the GAA issued him with the necessary suspension.
How does one authority (DRA) overrule three others? (GAA, CHC, CAC)
In a way, we knew this would happen. It always does. If you cry loudly enough and for long enough, you usually get what you want in this organisation.
When the GAA tried to take a stand against Tiernan McCann’s dive, the suspension couldn’t have been thrown out quickly enough. And the previous convictions that were all overturned for similar incidents of striking have set a sad, messy precedent that will seemingly take a long time to get back from.
Because where does it end?
They tried to do it with Connolly. They failed. On the morning of the replay, they had once again failed to uphold what should’ve been the most straightforward punishment. But it never is because he didn’t get this and she didn’t get that and remember that time and bla bla bla.
The hardest thing is to trust that the GAA will actually take steps now to seriously alter the rule book over the winter to make sure these cock-ups don’t happen again.
They need to. They need to set a new precedent so we never have to hear that most annoying – and yet depressingly justifiable – word that is getting players off left, right and centre. Precedent.
All past decisions are now in the past and should have no bearing on future decisions. Making the same mistake 19 times doesn’t make anything right. But the GAA need to make that clear. They need to be strong for once and they need to act with a new no-nonsense, no-waffle, no-loophole rule book that will let everyone know where they stand.
And it will tell any supporters with any grievances to, frankly, do one.
If you strike a player, you should be given a minimum eight-week ban.
If you dive, you should be given a minimum eight-week ban.
If you want to appeal, you have one appeal system. If that appeal fails, your sentence is automatically doubled.
That way, there are no time-wasters. There are no chancers. And there is no more of this utter nonsense that’s embarrassing us all.
And you’ll have no more of the on-field flashes either. Why would anyone in their right mind punch someone or dive if they knew they were missing two months of football?
And why are we so afraid to take a stand against it?
Imagine Mayo are a point up today. There are 10 seconds to go, Paul Flynn is on the 45′ one-on-one with Lee Keegan. Can Keegan just uppercut him and take his red card safe in the knowledge that he’ll play in the final?
If he appeals enough times that is.
Diarmuid Connolly is the finest footballer in Ireland and, honestly, it’s great for the neutral that he’ll be playing in what will surely be another clinker of a semi final today. It’s great because it will be two mighty sides at full strength going at it again and it’s good because at least we’ll have closure after this tie.
No excuses.
But, whilst it’s exciting from a purely spectator stand-point, it is yet another GAA pig’s dinner that needs sorting out fast.
Because, right now, I just don’t know where it ends. Right now, I don’t even know what the rules are anymore.
