Donegal champions St Eunan's decide against appealing the latest 16th player controversy

DEFENDING DONEGAL CHAMPIONS St Eunan’s have decided against taking a case with the Donegal county board concerning their defeat to Termon last weekend.

Their preliminary quarter-final clash finished with Termon winning on a scoreline of 1-16 to 0-18 after extra-time. However, there was a measure of controversy as Termon had 16 players on the pitch at the time substitute Enda McCormick kicked the winning score.

There had been some speculation that St Eunan’s would then appeal the result, but the club executive have decided against that course of action.

In a statement sent to The 42.ie, the club wrote; ‘Following a meeting of the Executive Committee this afternoon, St Eunan’s GAA can confirm that we will not be appealing the outcome of last weekend’s championship fixture against Termon.

‘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.’

The result will now stand, giving Termon their first ever championship win against the Letterkenny giants.

• With additional reporting from Sinead Farrell.