Armagh have been dealt a huge boost for Sunday’s Ulster SFC tie with Donegal after Stefan Campbell, Ciarán Mackin and Aidan Nugent were cleared to play.
The trio had failed to have one-match bans for their part in the fracas that marred the League meeting with Donegal in Letterkenny last month lifted by the Central Hearings Committee last week but they took their case to the Central Appeals Committee and succeeded in having their suspensions thrown out.
With the CHC having already quashed Rian O’Neill’s ban, it means that manager Kieran McGeeney effectively has a full deck to draw from for Sunday’s trip to Ballybofey when it appeared as though he would be severely depleted at one stage.
The latest outcome will surely infuriate the Donegal camp after they had decided to accept one-match bans handed down to Neil McGee and Odhran McFadden-Ferry from the same game. Like the Armagh trio, McGee and McFadden-Ferry weren’t sent off on the day but were referenced in referee Paddy Neilan’s report.
Donegal boss Declan Bonner spoke about the decision to accept their suspensions earlier today, saying they “could be wasting a couple of weeks” by going down the appeals route.
An emboldened Armagh now go to MacCumhaill Park bidding for their first Championship victory over Donegal since 2010.
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