Football Championship 2026 (Mod Note in OP)

David Clifford is a dirty dirty player as evidenced yesterday, holding his hands up and pleading innocent and shocked..... What, me, I didn't do anything!! Burns too after getting the red, shaking his head in disagreement, he threw a punch, did he expect to be praised or what? A bit of shoving and verbals is fine, but the next time out the Kerry team should be reminded that they are playing football, not rugby or boxing. If they fancy those sports go compete there and see how tough they really are.

Yeah it contrasts to Brennan’s attitude apologised there and there and then. But McGuinness’s attitude is being a bit of a sleeveen.

Between that and Murphy’s dirt during the league. It is becoming harder to like Donegal as a neutral. Even though I really admire their skill levels and general play.

In the past I have said Murphy was one of my favourite footballers, and last year hoped/thought Donegal would win Sam from the outset. Now I am thinking “Do I really want that shower to win Sam?”

For the neutrals I suppose it will now be Galway / Mayo / Cork / Roscommon / Westmeath who people will be supporting.

I still feel Donegal lack a kicking game, they are metronomical in what they do and have put savage work into holding onto the football and working it through the hands. I think there are more naturally talented teams out there eg. Galway but will that natural talent be able to beat manic levels of coaching and practice of possession football systems. Thats why McGuinness is so wound he knows every last detail has to go right for them to win Sam, a suspension for him could derail the whole thing.

Donegal have great movement off the ball and two point shooters though. It was two years ago up in Ballybofey in the league where I realised how good they are. They rinsed Dublin all over the pitch. And seem to have more depth than they had then.

But was very surprised how Donegal folded in the AI final last year. That probably backs up your argument, that everything will have to go right for them.

In the semi final last year Murphy clotheslined meaths Sean Rafferty with a ridiculously late hit, it was like something out of UFC. I was amazed Murphy didn't get a free for it! Rafferty had to go off soon after.

Anytime the ball came near him in the final he got a tap over free. Didn't matter in the end but still.

Nobody hit Clifford at the half- time buzzer and no Donegal player even touched touch him as he walked away afterwards playing the innocent with his hands in the air as Kerry players came piling in.

You can clearly see McGonagle makes two moves after the challenge. He moves his upper body backwards in a natural reaction to the tackle but half a second later he takes a tumble and the Donegal swarm begins

Donegal had 5-6 swarming around Clifford within seconds. True they was no real belt in there but they were leaving a shoulder in and niggly stuff like that. That's fine when it's one on one but when it's 5-6 on 1 it's always going to raise a reaction from the receiving team. If you want to stop these sort of melees breaking out it's the type of swarming that Donegal were guilty of on more than one occasion that needs to be punished.

My thoughts too. Before the match yesterday, I was hoping Donegal would win - purely cause Kerry have won enough. But as the game progressed, the antics of the Donegal lads got embarrassing. Constantly moaning - looking for Kerry lads to get booked, feigning injury. This swarming around refs and opposition players looks preplanned. I know it sounds like a shallow thing to say, but the Donegal lads just look like such an annoying group of players.

I was glad to see Burns get the line for his nasty punch, but even after that I found myself hoping Kerry would get back in to the game.

I think McGuiness wont be punished ,there was no real threat in what he done even though phisical contact was made with DOC.

Kerry wont push it anyway incase DC gets looked at well.

Praising Brennan's attitude FFS! He apologised and then appealed it all the way to the DRA without a leg to stand on. So he apologised but felt he should get away with it anyway, for no discernible reason whatsoever, and wasted everyone's time in doing so.

His apology was worth nothing the way he acted the maggot over it.

You need to go back and watch it again.

Being entitled to something doesn't make it right. Brennan had absolutely no business appealing it, as Cahair Kane pointed out in his article.

"Anti Dublin bias". Grow up.

Clifford was touched, but he wasn't hit. They were all over but there was barely a jostle. The (late) hits he and Looney put on Mogan (?) were orders of magnitude harder than any physical contact they made with him.

Twas always and ever the same, once any team dish it out to Kerry they are playing the poor mouth. All give and no take with that crowd.