Rian O'Neill cleared to face Donegal

A one-match ban was proposed for the Armagh star but the Central Hearings Committee (CHC) have overturned that proposal

Rian O'Neill was retrospectively cited after footage from the melee at the end of Armagh's Division 1 game against in Letterkenny was reviewed. Picture:  Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile

Armagh star Rian O’Neill has had his one-match suspension rescinded and will be able to line out against Donegal in Sunday week’s Ulster SFC quarter-final in Ballybofey.

Crossmaglen Rangers man O’Neill had been retrospectively cited after footage from the melee at the end of the counties’ Division 1 game in Letterkenny was reviewed.
A one-match ban was proposed but the Central Hearings Committee (CHC) have overturned that and so the two-time All-Star nominee will be able to line out in MacCumhaill Park.
O’Neill had received the recommended penalty on top of S tefan Campbell, Ciaran Mackin, Aidan Nugent and Cian O’Neill who had been handed down similar bans on the basis of referee Paddy Neilan’s match report about the unruly scenes at the end of the game. Donegal chose not to contest the one-game bans given to Neil McGee and Odhrán McFadden-Ferry.
Meanwhile, inter-county squad representatives have voted to extend players’ boycott of televised interviews and provincial competitions into this weekend, the start of the senior provincial championships.
In a note to reps, the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) explained that they will continue to boycott “post-match televised interviews and the launching of league finals provincial comps only”.
As the GAA and GPA look to sit down for a scheduled joint review committee this Thursday, players are to avoid televised interviews after games. However, the GPA explained that “any other media apart from post-match televised interviews is OK”.
Limerick’s 2020 hurler of the year Gearóid Hegarty attended a Bord Gáis event on Monday. That was given the green light as “any long term contractual player commitments re sponsorship and media are permitted in current protest. For example, one piece is out today. The GPA will not put a player in a situation where they’d be vulnerable to breach of contract.”
Depending on how Thursday’s meeting goes, the GPA could vote to escalate their boycott to include “all commercial activity”. They have also informed the GAA that they are “open to independent facilitation”.
Elsewhere, 2019 hurler of the year Seamus Callanan could miss Tipperary’s Munster SHC campaign after suffering an infection in his broken hand.
Manager Colm Bonnar said: “It's a bit of a nightmare for him because the infection now is gone into the bone, so it is going to be a bit longer in terms of trying to manage that injury that he got. That was bad enough but the infection has carried through now. It's going to be very difficult for him."
Finally, the Connacht Council have confirmed Hastings Insurance Brokers MacHale Park will host the Connacht SFC quarter-final meeting of Mayo and Galway on Sunday week. The news followed an inspection of the relaid surface, which has been unavailable since last summer due to works estimated to have cost over €300,000.