Armagh got ‘raw deal’ in Paradegate

Armagh’s siege mentality was clear and present prior to Saturday’s draw when selector Peter McDonnell claimed the team had been given a "raw deal" arising from the Paradegate controversy.

Paul Grimley refused to grant any interviews to the media following the game but former manager McDonnell spoke to BBC Radio Ulster prior to throw-in.

He slammed the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee for issuing retrospective one-match bans to Brendan Donaghy, Andy Mallon and Kieran Toner arising from the pre-match melee against Cavan.

“We’re on a shoestring at the moment,” said McDonnell. “It would be a lie to say that it didn’t have an impact on the panel. It certainly did have an impact.

“We’re not happy with the way things have materialised. We are not happy with the way some of our players were singled out.

“We are not happy other players were ignored completely and we think we got a raw deal in all of this.

“We are not happy with the way the authorities dealt with this here, cast judgements before hearings were heard.

“We are not happy with an awful lot of the media attentions that skewed what the huge reality was for Armagh.

“So there are a lot of things we are not happy with. What we have now are a group of players who are clearly focused on this task on hand.”

Armagh were certainly that, rescuing a draw from the jaws of defeat, and if the vehemence of the usually placid McDonnell is anything to go by their perceived indignation will fuel them in future games.

“All anybody wants in this world is fair play,” he insisted. “We don’t feel we got fair play.”