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GAA

25th Apr 2022

“I’ve went through the appeals system four times, it’s farcical” – Eamon McGee explains what’s wrong with the CCCC

Lee Costello

“In terms of the process, I just find it so, so amateurish.”

Armagh may have gotten their four suspensions overturned for the Ulster tie against Donegal, but it didn’t help them much in the end, as they performed poorly in a one-sided affair.

Donegal were in control for most of the match, despite the fact that they didn’t appeal the two suspensions that they had been handed with – Neil McGee and Odhran McFadden-Ferry.

Regardless of the result however, the fact that Armagh’s Stefan Campbell, Aidan Nugent, Rian O’Neill and Ciarán Mackin, were allowed to play, after getting their initial bans overturned, does raise some eyebrows about the CCCC.

Speaking on the GAA Hour, Kerry legend Darran O’Sullivan highlighted Eamon McGee’s interesting plan to overturn suspensions.

“You gave a great tweet there during the week, said O’Sullivan.

“It was a two step plan really to getting off suspensions, and the first one is ‘if you get a red card, always, always appeal.‘

“And then when you get to that appeal, and I quote: ‘Lie like f**k.’

McGee, who was in studio with the former Kerry captain, explains his simple, but effective plan and why the GAA need to change.

“I’m only passing on the advice that was given to me now. I think it’s in every county, north and south, that the appeal process has opened itself up to such ridicule, that this is the mentality that we have. 

“There’s times – I’ve been through the appeals, I think, four times, and the one time I got off was when I was actually genuinely sent off in the wrong. 

“The other three times – literally one of the times, one of the lads said ‘you have got to appeal here,’ and I says ‘I can’t appeal, there’s literally 100 people that seen what I did,’ I still appealed, and I got off with it. 

“People say there is a culture of appealing, the culture of appealing is because the GAA opens itself up to it, and it’s farcical. 

“It’s farcical to have that situation, like Rian O’Neill didn’t get to the level that he could have got to yesterday, I’m happy enough with that, Brendan McCole did an unreal job, but I don’t think the whole distraction for Armagh and from Rian O’Neil’s perspective lended a help to him at all. 

“And just in terms of the process, I just find it so, so amateurish, we talk about an elite game, and the inter-county game is an elite thing, but it’s propped up by a lot of amateurism, within the association, and a lot of people that are just not up to the role.”

You can listen to the full discussion on the latest episode of the GAA Hour: Here

 

LISTEN: The GAA Hour – Klopp in Croker, flop in Kildare and the ‘worst fans’ award?