Dublin county board secretary John Costello has condemned the treatment Colin Moran received from 'Sunday Game' analysts for his controversial challenge on Westmeath's Dermot Bannon in this year's Leinster SFC semi-final. The incident, which received extensive media coverage, resulted in Moran receiving a yellow card at the time, but the offence was later upgraded to a four-week suspension - though it was eventually overturned by the DRA. In his report to county convention, Costello reckons Moran was "subjected to a level of analysis following his shoulder on Westmeath's Dermot Bannon which raises serious questions marks over the editorial decisions and, perhaps bias, on the programme." "One thing is certain - the editorial line pursued by the Sunday Game was not the same when the native counties of some panellists were in action. In such circumstances we had panellists bobbing and weaving in order to douse any fallout rather than inflame it." "It is a moot point whether or not all incidents which may be raised by the host of the programme, the editorial staff, or indeed by viewers/spectators (through texts and emails) at games are dealt with in the same manner. You only have to look at the Russell Brand /Jonathan Ross episode to see an example of when and how editorial decisions can go wrong." Costello is also critical of GAA president Nickey Brennan, accusing him of making condescending remarks to Dublin and the other counties who opposed Galway and Antrim's entry into the Leinster hurling championship. While he doesn't mention Brennan by name, the long-serving secretary uses quotes attributed to the GAA president during the debate prior to October's Special Congress vote. "We were accused of being 'narrow-minded', 'lacking ambition' and 'not giving due consideration to the overall picture'. "These comments could not have been wider of the mark and were condescending to both our club delegates and County Board officials." Costello also hit out at the system which enabled counties not directly affected by the move to make the final decision: "Democracy is all very fine but it's easy to make grand gestures and vote Galway into Leinster when you're from Munster, Connacht, Ulster - or indeed some Leinster counties - knowing that it won't matter an iota to you." Tweet

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