GAA officials have sent out an unprecedented warning against the dangers of commenting on social media by banning Derry county footballer Aaron Devlin for one year – or 48 weeks – for his threatening Twitter post in the aftermath of last month’s Derry football final.

Devlin is one of three Ballinderry players being proposed with a 48-week ban by the Derry Competitions Control Committee (CCC), following their investigation into the ugly scenes which marred the conclusion of the county final at Celtic Park on October 19th.

Ballinderry, the defending Derry and Ulster club champions, were denied victory after a controversial late goal from Slaughtneil, which gave them the 1-8 to 0-9 win.

Several Ballinerry players and supporters later approached the match officials, adamant that the late goal, scored by Slaughtneil’s Gerald Bradley, hadn’t crossed the goal line.

While Devlin’s proposed ban stems specifically from comments he made on Twitter, aimed at match referee Anthony Campbell (the Tweet in question was later deleted), two other Ballinderry players – former Derry goalkeeper Michael Conlon and current Derry footballer Gareth McKinless – received their proposed 48-week bans for their involvement in the immediate post-match incidents.

One-match bans

Two other players, Colin Devlin and James Conway, have received one-match bans, with eight club supporters also being proposed with bans from attending club games. The Derry CCC have also proposed that the Ballinderry be closed for all adult games for one year, effectively ruling the club out of the Derry championship for 2015.

However the appeal process is underway, Ballinderry club chairman Stephen McGeehan last night confirming they were meeting to consider their options, but that the club would not be taking the proposed bans lightly.

“We regret the scenes at the county final and we apologised to Derry GAA and officials for the scenes that followed the loss of the match,” said McGeehan, who is also the Ulster Council’s head of Operations, and sits on the GAA’s national code of conduct committee

“While they were scenes that we would condemn, the penalties are severe and if individuals feel they have been harshly penalised, we have a duty to take their case forward.”

Bradley’s injury-time goal for Slaughtneil denied Ballinderry a fourth county title in succession.

Of the opinion

Several Ballinderry players were clearly of the opinion that Bradley’s goal should not have been allowed. The goal was awarded by the umpire, and accepted by the match referee.

Some Ballinderry players and supporters were seen attempting to stop the match referee and his umpires from leaving the Celtic Park pitch. One umpire was later reported to have been struck.

However, it is Devlin’s ban for the offensive Tweet that sets this disciplinary matter apart – as it is the first time any GAA officials have handed out a proposed ban of any sort for comments made on social media.

Yet, given the length and scale of the proposed bans, the appeal process could go all the way – including the Disputes Resolution Authority, especially when it comes to upholding a ban for an offensive Tweet.

Ballinderry are now expected to seek personal hearings for all five players: the lengthy bans, if they stand, will impact on Derry manager Brian McIver’s county squad for next year, as both McKinless and Devlin are expected to feature next year.

It’s not the first time that Ballinderry have found themselves with player bans: in 2009, a club game between Ballinderry and Kilrea resulted in James Conway being suspended after an incident where an opposition player had his jaw broken.

Slaughtneil, meanwhile, have moved on to the Ulster championship, and will play Cavan Gaels this Sunday.

The winners of that game will play Monaghan champions Clontibret, which means Monaghan forward Conor McManus will have to delay his trip to Australia with the rest of the Ireland International Rules squad.

That club game is set for November 16th, which means McManus will fly but solo and join up with the Irish squad in Perth for the November 22nd Test.