Two wrongs may not make a right, but a wrong and a right often can leave us all a bit confused as well.
Not the normal take on a classic wisdom but just about sums up the GAA's week from a disciplinary point of view.
The GAA is Ireland at its most Irish and, regarding the old law and order side of things, it’s fair to say we have a natural suspicion of overt lawfulness.
Rules are seen more as guidelines than things to be strictly obeyed and enforced. Instead we trust our natural sense of fairness to keep us right. The events of the past few months have left us all a tad confused.
Now I have to be careful here. Any suggestion that Jim McGuinness should have been banned has been met with a torrent of anger from the hills. A 'witch hunt’, an agenda fuelled by anti-Donegal hatred, etc, etc.
It’s anything but.
Ignoring the fact that most commentators on the matter were also suggesting David Clifford could be open to a ban, the entire episode has to be viewed in the context it was set.
The context? For the previous two months, one of the biggest stories was the massive ban handed down to Dublin manager Ger Brennan.
For a fairly innocuous incident, Brennan had received a complete ban from all activity for 12 weeks. By GAA measures, that’s almost unheard of and, hence, it garnered huge attention and was questioned widely.
In response to our apparent softness, the GAA response was one of robust defence based on strict application of the rules. To us lay people, there seemed a jarring discrepancy between the crime and the punishment and a lack of that innate sense of fairness we value higher than any application of rule.
Our authoritarian disciplinary committee was having none of it. There was a new sheriff in town and all that.
And so half-time in Killarney happened and there, in Technicolour, is the highest profile manager in the game pushing a Kerry player.
The automatic assumption that he would get a ban surely isn’t part of an anti-Donegal vendetta, nor kite flying, but more an act of basic logic.
The most basic requirement of rule and law is its consistent application so surely, having had such a recent high-profile case where they stuck ruthlessly to their guns, the disciplinary committee would have to act.
That they didn’t, I am 100% sure, is better for the championship. But that they didn’t also leaves everyone who had followed the Brennan case closely shrugging their shoulders.
Now let me be straight. For me, that they didn’t feels fairer than a three-month complete ban. Just as in the Brennan case, I think a one-game ban would have been appropriate.
I’m sure that Jim, or any other manager, wouldn’t suggest such behaviour is ok. Yes, we are emotional and competitive beings who care deeply for our teams so, at times, the blood gets up. But the sheer disparity is tough to accept, especially so given the lack of explanation and clarity both in terms of the content of referee Sean Hurson’s report and their decision-making process.
I can hear the incredulous ‘ah but the difference is that the referee had dealt with it with Brennan getting a red card and McGuinness being told, along with Jack O’Connor, to clear their benches.’ It doesn’t stand up.
Having taken such a high-profile principled stand on the Brennan case, the GAA’s central competitions control committee had to, as a priority, ensure consistency was clear. I suspect that the incident, nor David Clifford’s, was mentioned in the report and the CCCC have decided the easiest course of action is no action. The referee’s report being gospel and all that.
One thing is clear and has been for some time, the disciplinary side of things has seen a massive shift since Jarlath Burns has come in as GAA President.
Unless you’ve being at the coal face and faced them in an appeal, it’s easy to overlook.
Traditionally, red cards were about as likely to stand as the named team is to start. A good character reference and promise to behave themselves was enough to get most off with a slap on the wrist even before the legal eagles became involved. The disciplinary side of things had become a farce.
It’s very different now. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read match reports on dubious or soft red cards and the presumption that it’ll not stand on appeal. Yet time and again over the past two seasons these appeals have failed. A hard line is being applied and the Brennan decision fitted with this.
Now I believe the appeal culture had to at some stage stop. It was getting ridiculous, but these two cases are a perfect example that it’s not fixed yet.
On one side, the rule book suspensions need to be such that punishment fit crimes. On the other, if the ref’s reports are gospel, then how can we maximize their accuracy?
Could match officials sit down post-game and go through the video to be happy they have everything right? Could their report be assisted by a citing commissioner á la rugby who could further assist in this process and ensure all necessary matters are addressed? Given again our Irish views on touts, I doubt they’d be overly harassed by management teams!
In having an additional set of eyes or step in the process, could that lead us towards the consistency and fairness we all want to see?
That feels a million miles from where we are now.
Watch Mayo v Monaghan in the All-Ireland Football Championship first round on Sunday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch The Saturday Game from 9.50pm and The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on the RTÉ News app and on rte.ie/sport
