Donegal won the battle and the war in Killarney as they vanquished Kerry in Round 1 of the All-Ireland SFC.
Their 2-20 to 0-16 victory will send alarm bells ringing in the Kingdom, but it was a melee just before half-time that will dominate the national conversation over the next couple of days.
There had been needle right from the off and it all came to the boil when a David Clifford shoulder after the half-time hooter had blown sparked a mleee. Kerry's Micheál Burns was sent off for striking Ryan McHugh, while Donegal manager Jim McGuinness appeared to shove Kerry's Diarmuid O'Connor as tempers flared.
Back in March Dublin boss Ger Brennan was given a 12-week ban for his part in a fracas with Galway strength and conditioning coach Cian Breathnach McGinn during Dublin's league defeat to the Tribesmen at Pearse Stadium.
That set a precedent that may concern Donegal, with The Saturday Game panelists Conor McManus and Mike Quirke analysing the flashpoints and potential fallout.
"There wasn't much in it," said former Monaghan star forward McManus. "It's quite innocuous. There's not much in it, but it's blown into something more than it should be. The problem is there's a precedent there with Ger Brennan. To me, there's not much in it, really.
"Ger Brennan, in my eyes, was very harshly dealt with. To get a 12-week ban for what he did, I don't think it ever should have happened. I don't think too many people agree with it. Again, it happened. He'd probably regret it. He's come out and said as much.
"The CCCC will probably delve into this, unfortunately. They will probably look for some action."
Quirke, who won four All-Irelands with Kerry, agreed.
"It was a real shame because the game itself, the kick-outs, the scores that we saw, the defending, it was just brilliant fare in the first half," he said.
"I think that it just spilled over the top between all the players. There wasn't anything hugely crazy outside of Micheál's (red card).
"Obviously the Burns one, he crossed the line. He'll serve his suspension. He got his red card. Jim McGuinness puts his hands on a player. It's a push. It's a shove. But given the position that the GAA took with Ger Brennan, they've backed themselves into a corner a small little bit.
"Neither of those, Ger Brennan or Jim McGuinness, that doesn't deserve 12 weeks. That's overly harsh, in my opinion. It's a shame to be talking about this stuff because we had such a great spectacle for a lot of the game. The game was destroyed at half-time because Donegal just controlled the game all the way to the finish.
"I think the spirit of Championship football breeds a higher level of physicality than we see in the National League or anywhere else. Of course, by the letter of the law, if they want to say minimal interference with a player, that is the letter of the law. In my own view, I just think that's very, very harsh."
Watch the full discussion below.
