The GAA has been rocked by a fresh racism controversy.

hoganstand.com has learned that Westmeath full back Israel Ilunga is appealing his sending off against Meath in last Saturday's Leinster MFC semi-final on the grounds that he was racially abused.

The Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall clubman, who won an All-Ireland Vocational Schools medal with Cnoc Mhuire, Granard earlier this year, was allegedly taunted by an opponent before being issued with a straight red card for retaliation five minutes into the second half of the Lake County's 0-11 to 1-6 victory in Navan.

Westmeath will use video evidence to support their case and have Ilunga cleared to play in next Sunday's Leinster final against Kildare when their appeal is heard by the Leinster Council tomorrow night. The contents of Carlow referee John Hickey's report will also be studied.

The incident at Pairc Tailteann sparked a brawl involving several players and some unpleasant exchanges between mentors along the sideline.

Westmeath manager Tommy Carr, who is already resigned to being without injured midfielder Theo Watts and forward Jeremiah Scully for the Croke Park decider, was delighted with how his team responded to the flashpoint.

"Their response shows how genuine these lads were. It's how you react to setbacks - they reacted magnificently," the former Dublin captain and manager said.

Despite being a growing problem in the GAA, a motion submitted by Wexford dual star Lee Chin's club to have racial abuse tackled was ruled out of order for this year's annual Congress. Tweet

Most Read Stories