Mayo ace set to escape punishment ahead of Dublin clash

Mayo forward Ryan O’Donoghue looks set to escape censure for allegedly "lashing out with his foot" at Galway captain Seán Kelly at the start of the second half of Sunday’s All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final in Pearse Stadium, the Irish Independent is reporting.

The Sunday Game highlights programme on RTÉ screened footage of O’Donoghue first glancing down and then attempting to trip Kelly with the Galway full-back visibly wincing.

But while the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) were set to examine the incident, the inconclusive nature of what the video shows has made any disciplinary charge against the player most unlikely, the newspaper reports.

It continued: "Had the footage captured the entire incident O’Donoghue could potentially have found himself facing at least a one-game ban for behaviour dangerous to an opponent.

"But to make a charge stick CCCC has to consider the weight of evidence against a player when a referee hasn’t adjudicated at the time.

"O’Donoghue will be free then to face Dublin, their first championship meeting since the 2021 All-Ireland semi-final when he was such a pivotal presence."

Mayo manager Kevin McStay has explained that Padraig O'Hora was missing from the squad last Sunday due to illness, "a bug" as he described it.

He is expected to return to the squad this week.