Donegal GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Now the witch hunt has settled a bit on the McGuinness situation you can see the double standards.

One of the main arguments on the McGuinness issue was regardless of the severity of the physical intervention it had to be dealt with, one of the top managers can't be seen to get away with that or it will filter down through the organisation.

Ben O'Connor comes out and gives an unsporting interview, belittling the officiating, humiliating the ref and suggesting the way forward is to 'throw shapes' and 'make more noise'
Surely promoting unsporting behaviour and referee bashing is not something you want to see a top manager do either, for the same reason, so it doesn't filter down. Apparently though O'Connor is 'box office'.

I know there quite different situations but can you imagine the slating McGuiness would get if he came out after a 1 point defeat to Armagh or Kerry and gave an interview like that.
One thing I'd be pretty sure of is James Owens has had a worse week and a bigger impact on him on the back of Ben O'Connors interview than Diarmuid O'Connor did on the back of McGuinness actions.

JimB1991 (National) - 09/06/2026 23:36:23