David Gough voices concerns over GAA's appeal process

Shortcomings in the GAA's disciplinary system need to be addressed to reduce the number of seemingly frivolous appeals that are proving successful, according to leading football referee David Gough.

Many share the view that county boards have become a little too adept at exploiting loopholes and technical breaches in a quasi-legal process that may not be in the spirit of the amateur ethos.

Clare’s Rory Hayes and Peter Duggan and Galway’s Cianan Fahy were all cleared to play in last weekend’s All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals after having high profile suspensions overturned by the Central Competitions Control Committee.

"As long as there are loopholes within the system and not a tight process, that’s going to happen," Gough told RTÉ Sport.

"They're volunteers, let’s face it, they're not professionals. They're doing this at a professional level, but still on a voluntary basis.

"They want to stay involved and the responsibility is sometimes taken off them because they are volunteers and not professionals.

"You wouldn't see the same thing happening in rugby. If a player was suspended, he would take his suspension and it wouldn't be appealed, for fear that if he did appeal it and lost it, well then it would be doubled.

"That's the stage where we need to get to in the GAA – that appeals are taken seriously and that it's not just a case of 'sure we'll put in an appeal, we know you'll get off'."

"I don't feel as frustrated as I used to if a player gets off"

The Slane clubman, who will referee the clash of Mayo and Kerry at Croke Park on Sunday on a weekend of All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals to savour, has learned to detach himself from the machinations of the appeals system.

"I don't feel as frustrated as I used to if a player gets off," he