Armagh's Rian O’Neill has reportedly been cleared to play in their Championship clash against Donegal after his one-match ban was quashed.
O’Neill was proposed for the suspension as a result of a brawl that broke out during the two counties’ Allianz Football League tie last month which Donegal won by a point to preserve their place in Division One.
The ace attacker wasn’t mentioned in referee Paddy Neilan’s report but was singled out retrospectively. He decided to challenge the ruling with the Central Hearings Committee and has apparently succeeded in having the ban thrown out.
It’s a significant boost to Orchard boss Kieran McGeeney as he takes his side to Ballybofey for the Ulster quarter-final on April 24 though he’ll still likely be playing a weakened hand on the day.
O’Neill’s teammates Aidan Nugent, Ciaran Mackin and Stefan Campbell have also sought to challenge their one-match bans arising from the same game with the CHC though there is no word as yet as to whether they have been successful or not.
However, as they were mentioned in the referee’s report, their suspensions will likely be more difficult to shake off.
Should the CHC uphold the Central Competitions Control Committee’s ruling, Armagh would still have the option of going to the Central Appeals Committee or the Disputes Resolution Authority but successful challenges at that level have become increasingly rare.
Donegal pair Neil McGee and Odhran McFadden-Ferry will definitely sit out the crunch clash on Sunday week as they decided against launching a challenge to their one-match bans despite the fact that they, like the four Armagh players, weren’t sent off on the day.
It was the second flashpoint that Armagh were involved in in this year’s League after a fracas near the end of their round two win over Tyrone resulted in five red cards, four of them for the All-Ireland champions, being flashed, with all of them upheld at subsequent hearings.
Even with O’Neill being cleared, it appears that Armagh have suffered most in the fallout from the tie on March 27 as they look to build on an encouraging League campaign by launching a meaningful assault on winning the Ulster title for the first time since 2008.
They haven’t scored a Championship victory over Donegal since an infamous qualifier tie in 2010 and the Tir Chonaill men have only lost one Championship game at MacCumhaill Park in the last 12 years.
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