Opinion: Diarmuid Connolly’s punishment is harsh; what player wouldn’t have reacted to what Carlow did?

Diarmuid Connolly's supporters have been few and far between on the back of his incident with linesman Ciaran Branagan in Dublin's victory over Carlow on Saturday.

The four-time All-Ireland winner received a 12-week ban for his alleged indiscretion in Dublin's Leinster SFC quarter-final win over Carlow, following a meeting of Croke Park’s Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) on Tuesday night. https://twitter.com/eirSport/status/871091238480609280 Connolly has received widespread criticism from supporters from all over the country. The St. Vincent's man has been vilified for his 'pushing' of the linesman which occurred in the early stages of the second half of the game. By the letter of the law, Connolly's actions were wrong, they were out of order and they deserve to be punished. Connolly's offence which is classed as a 'minor interference' with an official, accrues a minimum of a 12-week suspension, and that's what he's received. The GAA would be better served exuding common sense in their judgement of incidents such as this one, however. It is unfair to judge every incident under a precedent which can be vague and non-specific. In defence of Diarmuid Connolly, it is very easy to ignore the fact that three Carlow players were pulling out of him, dragging out of him and one of them also delivered a fairly substantial blow to Connolly's chest. The Carlow players will defend themselves in saying that they just wanted the ball, in order to kickstart an attack. If that was the case, why were two of their players still following Connolly when the ball had been retrieved and they could've been hitting the sideline ball? Those players made no effort to get into space or to make a move for the ball and were more concerned with Connolly and complaining to the linesman. Connolly initially reacted well to the incident. His reaction spoke of a player who has been focused on avoiding getting involved in off the ball incidents. He raised his head and didn't lay a finger on any of the three Carlow players who were evidently overzealous in their attempts to retrieve the ball from him. If any GAA player around the country can honestly say that they, in Connolly's position, wouldn't have reacted to this overstated Carlow aggression, well then fair play to them, because the majority of GAA players would. https://twitter.com/D9BMayo/status/871143954095452160 Connolly then proceeded towards the linesman, he gently pushed him, which was wrong. The Carlow players who were hitting Connolly off the ball, were a huge provoking factor in this incident, however. Branagan didn't even flinch. It was a harmless shove from Connolly. Connolly shouldn't have done this, but there are lots of things that players do on a GAA pitch that they shouldn't do. If Branagan felt that Connolly's pushing of him and subsequent gesticulation towards him warranted a punishment, well then he should have communicated this with the referee and informed him what had happened. Our GAA players are in the spotlight, none more-so than Connolly. Every action the St Vincents man performs is under serious scrutiny. He has a reputation as being a hot-headed player, and even the most ardent Dublin supporter will agree that he has crossed a line on occasions in the past. But Connolly doesn't deserve a 12-week ban for his actions here. In the heat of battle our players are competitive, they have a one-track-mind and they will be doing everything they can to ensure they perform to their best and the team does too. That doesn't condone maliceful actions on the field of play, but Connolly's actions on Saturday didn't contain much malice either. Sometimes a player can cross the line, when they dangerously take out an opposing player or if they assault an official. Connolly's misdemeanours simply can't be classed in this bracket. Connolly's checkered past in relation to his discipline is counting against him. The St. Vincent's man has brought that upon himself, such as when he inexcusably kneed Kildare's Ciaran Fitzpatrick to the head in an O'Byrne Cup game, or his overreaction to Westmeath's James Dolan who had ruffled his hair - or even his involvement in incidents with Lee Keegan. Teams are beginning to target him. Players know that Connolly has a short fuse and are attempting to exploit this. But just like Kieran McGeeney's 12-week ban for a verbal altercation with an official, Connolly's punishment is extremely harsh.