The reigning champions have decided against appealing the result of their recent shock Championship defeat, despite having strong grounds for doing so
St. Eunan’s Letterkenny have opted not to challenge their county title defeat through official channels – despite believing they possessed compelling grounds for an appeal. The defending champions announced today that they will not be contesting the outcome of their recent Championship clash with Termon.
Termon, who progressed to this year’s All-Ireland Comórtas Peile Na Gaeltachta Senior Final, had 16 players on the field when they struck the decisive score in the preliminary quarter-final – a massive shock result for one of Donegal’s smallest clubs.
They managed to pip St. Eunan’s by 1-16 to 0-18 following extra-time at the Donegal GAA Centre of Excellence in Convoy.
However, their crucial final point, scored by substitute Enda McCormick, came whilst the player he was meant to replace remained on the pitch and was positioned within the St. Eunan’s penalty area when the score was registered.
St. Eunan’s criticised the coordination between match officials, but stated that for the sake of the competition’s integrity and to prevent further disruption, they would not be challenging the result.
The Letterkenny outfit, who boast a record 16 county titles, issued a statement today detailing the decision reached at an Executive Committee meeting within the club.
“The club believes it has a strong case under the rules, given that the winning score resulted directly from a 16th player, while the player being replaced was directly involved in engaging our defenders at the time.
“St Eunan’s players consulted the match referee at the time and asked him to consult with the linesmen and fourth official, which he declined to do. On this basis, had an appeal been lodged, we are confident that a replay would likely have been granted.
“However, St Eunan’s is equally mindful of the principles of sporting integrity and the fact that the incident was not the result of any deliberate act on Termon’s behalf. Our disappointment lies with how the situation was handled by the match officials.
“The game should not have been allowed to restart until the Termon player being substituted had fully exited the field of play.
“It was not Termon’s fault. Nor was it ours, and we strongly believe that standards of communication and officiating must improve to prevent such incidents in future.
“Ultimately, while we remain convinced that our case had merit, the Executive Committee has decided that pursuing the matter through appeal is not in the best interests of the competition.
“An appeal would cause disruption to the Championship and risk undermining its integrity.
“For these reasons, St Eunan’s will not be taking the matter further and wish Termon the very best in the remainder of the championship.”
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