McGuinness and Brennan cases like ‘apples and oranges’, says Burns
GAA President Jarlath Burns has defended the organisation’s handling of the Jim McGuinness incident, in which the Donegal boss escaped without punishment.
McGuinness escaped a 12-week suspension after referee Seán Hurson did not directly reference in his report McGuinness’s shove on Kerry’s Diarmuid O’Connor during a half-time melee at the game in Killarney.
In contrast, Dublin manager Ger Brennan is serving a three-month ban for an incident involving the Galway strength-and-conditioning coach Cian Breathnach McGinn during a league fixture in March, but Jarlath Burns says comparing the two incidents is like ‘comparing apples and oranges.’
Jarlath Burns has defended decision to ban Dublin manager Ger Brennan for 12 weeks. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Burns insists it has come down to each referee’s on-field decision, arguing that to overrule a referee’s decision afterwards would be tantamount to ‘re-refereeing the game,’ and the fact that Ger Brennan was given a red card on the day means the minimum ban was 12 weeks.
‘The Ger Brennan case was very simple, very straightforward. He was cited for minimum contact with an opponent; there’s the sanction. That went through hearings, appeals, DRA [Disputes Resolution Authority], so it was a very robust process,’ he said.
Because the referee did not give Jim McGuinness a red card on the day in Killarney, Burns has said that there is no need for additional sanctions for the Donegal boss.
Donegal manager Jim McGuinness and Turlough Carr. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
‘Now the referee took a different view on that [McGuinness incident in Killarney],’ he said. ‘The referee was in the middle of that, the fourth official saw it [the McGuinness incident], the referee referred to it in his report and left it at that.’
‘It’s very simple: a referee dealt with it in one way, and one referee adjudicated another, so after that, it’s really none of our business.’
Many Dublin fans have felt that there is a sense of injustice in the way that the Ger Brennan incident was handled, compared to the McGuinness situation, but Jarlath Burns has insisted he doesn’t ‘think that’s the case at all’ when it comes to the wider GAA public.
