Donegal county board PRO Ed Byrne has admitted to sympathising with Kilcar over the club's fixtures pile-up.

The Donegal champions did not field a team for an U21 game last Sunday, with their sights firmly set on this Saturday's Ulster club SFC semi-final against Slaughtneil, and while they agreed with opponents Gweedore to play the match at a later date Donegal's CCC insisted that the game had to go ahead.

Kilcar have since been kicked out of the competition with senior team manager Barry Doherty claiming that they're being "unfairly treated" by the board.

Byrne explained that the rescheduling of the county's minor championship earlier in the year has had a knock-on effect and outlined that one club's involvement in Ulster can't take priority over the U21 competition being run off in a timely manner.

"People can say that Kilcar should be shown a bit of leniency because the knock-on of moving fixtures from earlier in the year caused this, but unfortunately we have to look at the picture for all the clubs," Byrne told The Irish News.

"I would dearly love, as would the CCC, to be in a position to give Kicar a free run but we have to look at the bigger picture, finish out our season and allow a break for our club players, particularly in the U21 competition because very soon an awful lot of lads in that competition will be facing third level Christmas exams."

He added: "If we showed leniency to Kilcar, we'd have to show it to all three of our clubs in Ulster.

"That would hold up the U21 competition and then what do you tell the players at other clubs? Do you tell them our U21 championship is less important than one club's wish to proceed in Ulster?"

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