St Eunan's won't be appealing Termon loss but express disappointment at officials

St Eunan's GAA club have confirmed that they will not be appealing the result of last Saturday's Donegal SFC preliminary round quarter-final loss to Termon. 

The Burn Road side ran out winners on a 1-16 to 0-18 scoreline after extra-time at full-time at the Donegal GAA Centre in Convoy.

St Eunan’s players at the time and afterwards made the point to referee Marc Brown that when substitute Enda McCormick punched over what proved to be the winning point, Termon had 16 players on the field. Martin McCormick, who kept his flag raised to show the substitution wasn't complete, was the standside linesman and Donegal GAA communications officer Sinead Breen was acting as fourth official.

McCormick scored instantly with his first possession after being introduced, although the man he was to replace, John James Sweeney, was in the St Eunan’s arc as McCormick picked up possession before turning and scoring. McCormick's score put Termon two in front before Shane O'Donnell of St Eunan's pulled one back, with what proved to be the final score of the match. 

St Eunan's met on both Monday evening and again this afternoon to assess their options and believe that no blame should be attached to Termon, although did point out that they were unhappy with the officials. 

"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 told DonegalLive.

"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."