The GAA's penchant for holding key meetings in the middle of the night continued in the early hours of the morning as news of Diarmuid Connolly appeal finally broke when everyone was tucked up in bed. The ultimate result is that the Central Appeals Committee have decided to uphold the Dublin star's ban following his sending off in the dying minutes of last Sunday's All Ireland semi-final. (An incident which you can see one more time here)
As things stand, Connolly will now miss the replay against Mayo on Saturday having also failed in an appeal to the Central Hearings Committee to have the ban overturned less than 24 hours before this latest appeal was thrown out.
While it now appears certain that Connolly will not be in the Dublin line-up for the replay, Dublin do still have one final avenue of appeal should they choose to go down that route.
The Disputes Resolution Authority is still open to Connolly should he wish to appeal this latest decision. Whether that option will be looked at is yet to be known but, after two failed appeals, it now seems unlikely that Jim Gavin will have Connolly to call upon for the crucial clash in Croke Park at 5pm tomorrow.
See more: Here's How Diarmuid Connolly Could End Up Playing On Saturday
