St Eunan’s GAA Club will not be making an objection against the outcome of Saturday’s Donegal SFC defeat to Termon.

The Letterkenny club lost the preliminary quarter-final against Termon by 1-16 to 0-18.

However, there was controversy as it was alleged that Termon had 16 players on the field when Enda McCormick scored their final point. John James Sweeney had been substituted and was on his way off when the action resumed prematurely.

St Eunan’s scored a point after that but couldn’t find a leveller.

The O’Donnell Park side said they would consider their options on whether to appeal the outcome or not, but have now decided against it.

St Eunan’s have released a statement saying:

“Following a meeting of the Executive Committee this afternoon, St Eunan’s GAA can confirm that we will not be appealing the outcome of last weekend’s championship fixture against Termon.

“The club believes it has a strong case under the rules, given that the winning score resulted directly from a 16th player, while the player being replaced was directly involved in engaging our defenders at the time. St Eunan’s players consulted the match referee at the time and asked him to consult with the linesmen and fourth official which he declined to do.

“On this basis, had an appeal been lodged, we are confident that a replay would likely have been granted.

“However, St Eunan’s is equally mindful of the principles of sporting integrity and the fact that the incident was not the result of any deliberate act on Termon’s behalf. Our disappointment lies with how the situation was handled by the match officials. The game should not have been allowed to restart until the Termon player being substituted had fully exited the field of play. It was not Termon’s fault, nor was it ours, and we strongly believe that standards of communication and officiating must improve to prevent such incidents in future.

“Ultimately, while we remain convinced that our case had merit, the Executive Committee has decided that pursuing the matter through appeal is not in the best interests of the competition. An appeal would cause disruption to the championship and risk undermining its integrity.

“For these reasons, St Eunan’s will not be taking the matter further and wish Termon the very best in the remainder of the championship.”