Offaly will contest the straight red card issued to their captain Jason Sampson in the opening seconds of last Saturday’s Joe McDonagh Cup clash with Westmeath.

Manager Johnny Kelly confirmed after the pivotal 2-23 to 1-20 victory at Glenisk O’Connor Park that the Faithful would be appealing the sending off, which will go down as one of the quickest in GAA history. There was less than 20 seconds elapsed when Sampson was given his marching orders by referee Brian Keon following an altercation with Westmeath centre back Aonghus Clarke.

In an incident-packed opening eight minutes, Brian Duignan scored and missed a penalty for the winners, while David O’Reilly raised a green flag at the other end. Westmeath were also reduced to 14 players in the 21st minute after Darragh Egerton received a yellow card. It came after the Clonkill defender had already been issued with a black card for the foul which led to Offaly’s second penalty.

If Sampson’s appeal is successful, he will be free to line out against a struggling Meath outfit in Round 3 of the McDonagh Cup at Páirc Tailteann this Sunday.

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