We will make another bid to clear Marsden, says Kernan

ARMAGH manager Joe Kernan confirmed yesterday that they will launch another appeal to clear Diarmuid Marsden’s name and get his All-Ireland final red card rescinded.

Marsden and Kernan were both present at Wednesday night’s GAC meeting where the dismissal was reviewed. However, Croke Park decided the sending off should stand, which means Marsden will miss next summer’s Ulster championship first round match against Monaghan.

“We are disappointed,” Kernan said. “I thought we provided enough evidence to clear Diarmuid’s name.

“Obviously, we don’t want to face Monaghan without Diarmuid, but it’s more important we clear his name.

Marsden was controversially sent off in the final quarter, after Brian White adjudged he struck out at Tyrone defender Philip Jordan. Subsequent video footage showed the Armagh defender may only have been trying to defend himself as Jordan ran towards him That is the prevailing view in Armagh where Jordan has been accused of contriving to get Marsden dismissed.

However, the GAC stood by White’s decision. “Following full consideration of all evidence, including video footage of the incident, it was decided by the GAC that the penalty imposed must stand,” the GAA stated yesterday.

Kernan and the Armagh county board still believe there is a case for an appeal. “This is all about clearing Diarmuid’s name. He is not that type of player, and he doesn’t deserve to have that black mark against him. So, we feel we should make another appeal,” Kernan said.

Marsden is now sidelined with an injury, ruling him out of this weekend’s Railway Cup semi-final in Enniskillen.

Meanwhile, the image of the GAA came into focus at an Image Rights and Intellectual Property conference in UCD yesterday. The seminar was told that while the GAA haven’t embraced a totem like David Beckham yet, a player with such an iconic image might appear at some stage, given the growth of the sport.

The conference heard of a case study on the association, which showed how many people were slow to embrace the change of logo when it was mooted a few years ago. As the original Celtic Cross symbol had been an integral part of the Association for over 100 years, few wanted to start charge people for the use of it. So, after months of discussion, the current Celtic motif was decided. “It was our mission to create an identity and an identifiable symbol, to go with what people already recognised from the GAA,” Liam Burkett told the seminar. “So, we decided on the Celtic motif which has become a big part of the Association.”