Donegal on slippery slope?

[RMDrive]

As a neutral from Tyrone who obviously see Donegal as the new rivals on the block, I am shocked how many of ye on here are suspecting Donegal here of telling lies.

The lad definitely had at least a bruise and if they used the word bite then they must know it would look bad on them if that turned out to be a lie.
They reported it to the ref and to the Dublin doctor but just not to the media yet so why are ye all so doubting that it ever happened.

The doubt arises because the Donegal county secretary, Aodh Mairtin O'Fearraigh, confirmed to the Donegal Democrat that McBrearty was treated at Letterkenny General Hospital for a laceration of his shoulder.

His injury has moved from a laceration to a graze to a bruise.

Nobody is doubting he has a bruise, but there's definitely an element of exaggeration that's going on, the question is how much of an exaggeration. Anyone with a Dublin bias is going to assume there was gross exaggeration, unless/until Donegal come up with better evidence.

Where is the exaggeration? The lad was bitten and all you can focus on is the terminology that different journalists have used to describe it? Show me the quotes from the Donegal camp using these different terms. Shameful nitpicking going on here as an excuse to avoid the heart of the problem.

I tell you what's ironic. Ulster lads playing the poor mouth when it comes to dirtbird tactics.

You pioneered most of it for the last decade!

When it comes to discussing Gallagher and the rest of what Donegal get up to- you don't want to know.

Nobody from dublin is brushing anything under the carpet.. We just want to see the evidence.

As I see. If you open the discussion out to the whole of Ulster and talk about "dirtbird" tactics, it will further serve to take focus away from the alleged biting incident?

Any evidence (if it exists) will be provided to the authorities. Are you looking for the evidence to be published by Donegal or something? Who would be served by that?

[INDIANA]

As a neutral from Tyrone who obviously see Donegal as the new rivals on the block, I am shocked how many of ye on here are suspecting Donegal here of telling lies.

The lad definitely had at least a bruise and if they used the word bite then they must know it would look bad on them if that turned out to be a lie.
They reported it to the ref and to the Dublin doctor but just not to the media yet so why are ye all so doubting that it ever happened.

The doubt arises because the Donegal county secretary, Aodh Mairtin O'Fearraigh, confirmed to the Donegal Democrat that McBrearty was treated at Letterkenny General Hospital for a laceration of his shoulder.

His injury has moved from a laceration to a graze to a bruise.

Nobody is doubting he has a bruise, but there's definitely an element of exaggeration that's going on, the question is how much of an exaggeration. Anyone with a Dublin bias is going to assume there was gross exaggeration, unless/until Donegal come up with better evidence.

Where is the exaggeration? The lad was bitten and all you can focus on is the terminology that different journalists have used to describe it? Show me the quotes from the Donegal camp using these different terms. Shameful nitpicking going on here as an excuse to avoid the heart of the problem.

I tell you what's ironic. Ulster lads playing the poor mouth when it comes to dirtbird tactics.

You pioneered most of it for the last decade!

When it comes to discussing Gallagher and the rest of what Donegal get up to- you don't want to know.

Nobody from dublin is brushing anything under the carpet.. We just want to see the evidence.

As I see. If you open the discussion out to the whole of Ulster and talk about "dirtbird" tactics, it will further serve to take focus away from the alleged biting incident?

Any evidence (if it exists) will be provided to the authorities. Are you looking for the evidence to be published by Donegal or something? Who would be served by that?

Not deflecting anything- simply referring to the fact that innocence till proven guilty means nothing to you and the rest of your merry men

[laoislad]

So pigs don't just grunt anymore, they bite now as well....

[The Hill is Blue]

The title of this thread is "Donegal on slippery slope?" and if the whinging coming out of the north west since last Sunday is anything to go on they certainly are on that slope.

The game had hardly finished when they were blaming the ref for their collapse. It wasn't the ref's fault that Donegal didn't score from play in the second half, and the ref can hardly be blamed for Jack McCaffrey's and Paul Mannion's super points that drew the game. And what about the "penalty"? Having watched the reply of the incident it seems to me that:

1.   The tackle was 50/50 and could have gone either way (you win some you lose some)
2.    The tackle was made just outside the penalty area and would not have been a penalty even if a free had been awarded.

Donegal should stop looking in the rear-view mirror and focus all their energy on the showdown with Tyrone.

[J70]

The title of this thread is "Donegal on slippery slope?" and if the whinging coming out of the north west since last Sunday is anything to go on they certainly are on that slope.

The game had hardly finished when they were blaming the ref for their collapse. It wasn't the ref's fault that Donegal didn't score from play in the second half, and the ref can hardly be blamed for Jack McCaffrey's and Paul Mannion's super points that drew the game. And what about the "penalty"? Having watched the reply of the incident it seems to me that:

1.   The tackle was 50/50 and could have gone either way (you win some you lose some)
2.    The tackle was made just outside the penalty area and would not have been a penalty even if a free had been awarded.

Donegal should stop looking in the rear-view mirror and focus all their energy on the showdown with Tyrone.

What whinging? McGuinness said nothing about the ref except for people to look at it and make up their own mind, as you've done. Even if it was a veiled criticism, so what? He hardly broke with GAA tradition.  That aside, have there been other comments from the Donegal camp about the game? I think most people in Donegal had moved on by Monday, especially with the U-21 game tonight. But I trust that we won't hear a peep from the Dubs if and when you suffer some perceived injustice on account of the referee this summer?

The alleged bite is a completely separate issue. And that will probably die pretty quickly too as I doubt if the player in question will be identified unless the incident was witnessed by a third party. Short of that type of revelation, just about everything that can be said about it has at this point.

[trueblue1234]

As a neutral from Tyrone who obviously see Donegal as the new rivals on the block, I am shocked how many of ye on here are suspecting Donegal here of telling lies.

The lad definitely had at least a bruise and if they used the word bite then they must know it would look bad on them if that turned out to be a lie.
They reported it to the ref and to the Dublin doctor but just not to the media yet so why are ye all so doubting that it ever happened.

The doubt arises because the Donegal county secretary, Aodh Mairtin O'Fearraigh, confirmed to the Donegal Democrat that McBrearty was treated at Letterkenny General Hospital for a laceration of his shoulder.

His injury has moved from a laceration to a graze to a bruise.

Nobody is doubting he has a bruise, but there's definitely an element of exaggeration that's going on, the question is how much of an exaggeration. Anyone with a Dublin bias is going to assume there was gross exaggeration, unless/until Donegal come up with better evidence.

Where is the exaggeration? The lad was bitten and all you can focus on is the terminology that different journalists have used to describe it? Show me the quotes from the Donegal camp using these different terms. Shameful nitpicking going on here as an excuse to avoid the heart of the problem.

I tell you what's ironic. Ulster lads playing the poor mouth when it comes to dirtbird tactics.

You pioneered most of it for the last decade!

When it comes to discussing Gallagher and the rest of what Donegal get up to- you don't want to know.

Nobody from dublin is brushing anything under the carpet.. We just want to see the evidence.

Such a load of Crap. Dublin were well used to using underhand tactics themselves over the last decade. And usually better at getting away with it. There's been plenty of threads on here discussing what Donegal, Tyrone, Armagh etc get up to. You just don't like it when the light is shone back on Dublin.
Funny I've yet to see the "Warrior against the dark arts" Dubsforsam make any comment. Usually he's the first one on to comment when it's any other team.

[johnneycool]

Jimmy's circling the wagons in an attempt to rouse the team from their slumbers and get focused for championship. He's not the first manager to create a them and us culture and he won't be the last.

Any request for dental records yet or do them auld gumshields render dental records useless?

[heffo]

The title of this thread is "Donegal on slippery slope?" and if the whinging coming out of the north west since last Sunday is anything to go on they certainly are on that slope.

The game had hardly finished when they were blaming the ref for their collapse. It wasn't the ref's fault that Donegal didn't score from play in the second half, and the ref can hardly be blamed for Jack McCaffrey's and Paul Mannion's super points that drew the game. And what about the "penalty"? Having watched the reply of the incident it seems to me that:

1.   The tackle was 50/50 and could have gone either way (you win some you lose some)
2.    The tackle was made just outside the penalty area and would not have been a penalty even if a free had been awarded.

Donegal should stop looking in the rear-view mirror and focus all their energy on the showdown with Tyrone.

The alleged bite is a completely separate issue. And that will probably die pretty quickly too as I doubt if the player in question will be identified unless the incident was witnessed by a third party. Short of that type of revelation, just about everything that can be said about it has at this point.

Personally I don't agree.

It should be fully investigated - if the allegation is found to be true there should be heavy sanctions.

If it's found to be false there should be sanctions for Donegal for making this allegation through the media.

There is a lot more to be said on this imo.

[heffo]

Jimmy's circling the wagons in an attempt to rouse the team from their slumbers and get focused for championship. He's not the first manager to create a them and us culture and he won't be the last.

Allegation was made at half time allegedly though - when Donegal were ahead

[johnneycool]

yeah so i read.

But the whole media circus after it is more I'm getting at but it seems to be the norm now, not just in Donegal.

Why not wait on the referee's report if he'd been informed and wait on the CCCCCCC to react whatever way they see fit

[trueblue1234]

The report has been put in to the CCC and outlines the allegations.

Donegal have made an official complaint that one of their players was on the receiving end of a bite during Sunday's Division One NFL draw with Dublin.

Paddy McBrearty is understood to have a significant graze consistent with teeth marks on his shoulder, which he had to have checked out in Letterkenny hospital on Sunday night.

Referee Padraig Hughes was formally notified of the allegation at half-time by Donegal officials and it has been mentioned in his report on the match.

But since neither he nor any of his officials witnessed the alleged incident happening, building a case will be difficult.

Hughes himself was in the wars when he twisted ankle ligaments and had to be stretchered off and replaced by Michael Duffy in the 45th minute.

It is also believed that Dublin were made aware of the allegation after the match through contact between the medical staff of both teams.

Donegal are angered by the alleged incident but apart from confirming that the referee was informed they do not want to make an issue of it and were happy to leave it with the referee.

They are understood to have taken pictures of McBrearty's shoulder to support the claims made to referee Hughes at half-time if required for any further investigation.

It will be up to the Central Competitions Controls Committee (CCCC), who met yesterday, to initiate any investigation.

Donegal manager Jim McGuinness was not as calm as he normally is after games and he was clearly perturbed by a number of matters that occurred during the match.

"A lot of stuff went on there that didn't add up," he admitted, a possible reference to the decision not to give Rory Kavanagh a penalty or possibly this alleged biting incident.

McBrearty is the star of the Donegal U-21 team who play Cavan in tomorrow night's Ulster final in Enniskillen. His participation is not thought to be in doubt because of the cut to his shoulder he received.

l It has maybe been forgotten how back in 2011, Eoin Bradley produced some of the most exciting football in the country.

His performance and goal against Armagh in the Ulster semi-final had him almost assured of an All-Star, before a cruciate injury intervened.

On Sunday he hit five points as Derry reclaimed their place among the top flight with victory over a shadow Westmeath team, two days after his grandfather passed away.

"There has not been a lot of sleep got in the last couple of days," said Bradley.

"But it was good to get out and get away from everything from a couple of hours. It is just one of those things that happens in everyone's life so you just have to get on with it."

Interesting to read that pictures were taken as well.

[drici]

[J70]

The title of this thread is "Donegal on slippery slope?" and if the whinging coming out of the north west since last Sunday is anything to go on they certainly are on that slope.

The game had hardly finished when they were blaming the ref for their collapse. It wasn't the ref's fault that Donegal didn't score from play in the second half, and the ref can hardly be blamed for Jack McCaffrey's and Paul Mannion's super points that drew the game. And what about the "penalty"? Having watched the reply of the incident it seems to me that:

1.   The tackle was 50/50 and could have gone either way (you win some you lose some)
2.    The tackle was made just outside the penalty area and would not have been a penalty even if a free had been awarded.

Donegal should stop looking in the rear-view mirror and focus all their energy on the showdown with Tyrone.

The alleged bite is a completely separate issue. And that will probably die pretty quickly too as I doubt if the player in question will be identified unless the incident was witnessed by a third party. Short of that type of revelation, just about everything that can be said about it has at this point.

Personally I don't agree.

It should be fully investigated - if the allegation is found to be true there should be heavy sanctions.

If it's found to be false there should be sanctions for Donegal for making this allegation through the media.

There is a lot more to be said on this imo.

I can't fathom why anyone would make a false allegation like this. What's there to gain from it?

Besides, if it was false, how can it be proven that McBrearty or the Donegal camp made it up? If there are no actual visual teeth marks, does that mean McBrearty lied? It might mean an over-cautious response on the part of the doctor (i.e. injections etc), but it wouldn't prove there wasn't a bite. And if there is proven to have been a bite, short of taking moulds of lads teeth to match the markings, do you leave any potential discipline to rest on just McBrearty's word, assuming no other witnesses?

Which is my point: There might not be enough definitive evidence either way to do anything about this.

[muppet]

From a neutral perspective it would very bad form to make a serious allegation without some proper evidence.

If there is solid evidence I agree with the people calling for a lengthy ban.

If there is no evidence Donegal should apologise and withdraw the claim.

If there is debatable evidence this should be quickly investigated by the CCCC.

It is only a couple of weeks since a video appeared with a glove moving over the face of a Mayo player who was on the ground. Despite the odd sensational claim most Mayo supporters on this forum, and evidently the Officials, County Board and the player himself, declined to make any rash public statements and looking at this new case, they were wise.

[J70]

If Donegal have photos, obviously they were trying to document the evidence. The issue is what do the photos and any other evidence prove?