FIVE players are set to miss the Ulster Championship meeting between Donegal and Armagh after being hit with proposed one-match bans from the post-match dust-up on Sunday.
The Irish News understands that Armagh trio Ciaran Mackin, Aidan Nugent and Stefan Campbell have all been hit with proposed bans along with Donegal duo Odhran McFadden-Ferry and Neil McGee.
The five are understood to have been cited in the referee’s report for contributing to a melee.
Although there didn’t appear to be any punches thrown in the dust-up which happened just after the final whistle, referee Paddy Neilan and his officials have come down hard on the two teams.
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The bans are all off the back of the referee’s report, rather than any potential CCCC investigation into the incident.
The heavy punishments could have a massive bearing on the counties’ Ballybofey meeting on April 24, particularly for Armagh.
The hugely impressive Mackin and Nugent have both been regular starters throughout the league, while Campbell has been a consistent feature off the bench.
McFadden-Ferry has been a key figure in Donegal's defence all year and is regarded as a key man-marker.
Neil McGee’s short cameo as a blood sub for Brendan McCole during the game was his first appearance since suffering a bad back injury in the opening minutes of their Ulster SFC defeat by Tyrone last summer.
It appeared unlikely that he would start the championship tie in four weeks’ time, although Declan Bonner would no doubt have liked to have had his county’s most-capped player available for defensive back-up at least.
