Michael Murphy free to return after serving match ban

Donegal captain Michael Murphy’s disciplinary record has been wiped clean after he served a one-game suspension last weekend, Croke Park has confirmed.

Last Sunday, Murphy became the first inter-county footballer to serve a ban under the GAA’s new cumulative suspension rules which were introduced last year.

The 25-year-old sat out Donegal’s draw with Mayo in Castlebar after he received a black card against Tyrone the weekend before, having already been shown one against Dublin in February and been sent off for two yellow cards against Cork last month.

The GAA’s new “three strikes and you’re out” policy states that any player who picks up three sanctions must serve a one-game ban.

It had been claimed in some quarters that Murphy’s black card in the Tyrone game was a tactical one, to avoid the potential of a one-game ban hanging over him going into the championship.

Murphy can now pick up another double yellow card ban and not miss the following game.

Before last year, a repeat offence within 48 weeks would have meant a one-game ban.

However, under the new rules cumulative cards only relate to the current year’s league and championship.

The Glenswilly man’s black card count also returns to zero.

Of the four teams involved in Sunday’s Division 1 semi-finals, Monaghan’s Dessie Mone is the only player running the risk of missing a championship game because of black cards, having picked up two —againstCork in February and Dublin last weekend.

His team-mates Conor McManus, Kieran Hughes and Dermot Malone, Donegal’s Martin McElhinney, Cork’s Fintan Goold, Dublin pair Philly McMahon and Emmet Ó Conghaile all received one black card during this season’s Allianz Football League Division 1 campaign.