The tremendously harsh red card issued to Dublin wing back James McCarthy during the clash with Mayo on Saturday night is to be appealed by the Dublin County Board.
McCarthy was given his marching orders by referee Marty Duffy after appearing to catch Mayo forward Alan Freeman with his elbow midway through the first half.
On second glance it seemed clear that McCarthy was trying to shake off Freeman and that any contact with the player’s face was entirely accidental. Besides, how was Duffy supposed to have a clear view of the incident with all the fog hanging around?
Despite the fact that the game was abandoned because of the aforementioned fog at half-time, the GAA have confirmed that McCarthy’s red card will stand, potentially sidelining the wing-back for a couple of National League games.
While it seems a little unfortunate for McCarthy, his teammate Eamon Fennell can consider himself a lucky boy, as the one-game ban he received for striking Bryan Sheehan in the Dubs’ league opener against Kerry is now considered served.
Dublin are prepared to seek justice for McCarthy, however, and will appeal the decision in an effort to get the 23-year old off the hook.
“We understand the red card stands despite the game being abandoned. And, yes, we will appeal it,” Dublin County Board Chairman Andy Kettle told The Sun.
Whatever the outcome of McCarthy’s appeal, hopefully the GAA don’t make as much of a mess of it as they did rescheduling the Mayo v Dublin game over the last couple of days.
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