Down footballer Darren O'Hagan has launched a strong defence of the county's senior football manager Paddy Tally.
Tally is facing a twelve-week suspension from the game for an alleged breach of the ban on collective team training.
Last month, the PSNI were called to Abbey CBS in Newry where the Down panel were "playing on the pitches". The footballers hadn't broken any regulations in the eyes of the law, but the GAA have come down hard on both Down and Cork.
Cork manager Ronan McCarthy is also facing a twelve-week ban for overseeing a 'team-building' exercise on Youghal Beach in January.
The GAA had banned collective training in light of the restrictions currently in place across the country.
But a member of Tally's panel - Darren O'Hagan - claims his manager is being unduly targeted.
The corner-back tweeted, "Paddy Tally should be celebrated for his outstanding service to the GAA.
"Instead he's being deliberately targeted by centralised media leaks and press briefings to attack his good character.
"He has guided and mentored Down footballers on and off-field through unprecedented times."
O'Hagan missed the 2020 Football Championship through injury.
Down officials had claimed the Newry get-together was just a means of distributing training schedules and programmes among the players.
It's believed Down will request separate hearings to appeal Tally's ban, and the accompanying loss of home advantage for one match.
Cork are also set to head down a similar route, with county CEO Kevin O’Donovan saying they would be giving "due consideration" to the sanctions.
Cork county board delegates were informed of the punishments on Tuesday night.
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