St Eunan's rule out '16th man' appeal

St Eunan's won't be appealing the result of last Saturday's Donegal SFC preliminary quarter-final.

The Dr Maguire Cup holders' surprise 0-18 to 1-16 extra-time loss to Termon was overshadowed by their opponents appearing to have 16 players on the field when substitute Enda McCormick fisted over what proved to be the winning point three minutes from the end.

McCormick had only just been introduced in place of John James Sweeney, who was still on the pitch at the time of the score. St Eunan's decision means that Termon can now focus fully on their Donegal SFC quarter-final against Naomh Conaill this weekend.

In a statement released after an executive meeting was held on Monday, St Eunan's said they had opted against appealing in order to uphold the integrity of the competition. However, they expressed disappointment with the match officials for allowing the incident - which had been pointed out to them at the time - to happen.

"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 statement read.

"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."