THE DUBLIN county board last night decided to appeal against all the suspensions imposed by the Leinster Council in the wake of the now notorious under 21 match with Offaly on March 15th. Offaly have yet to announce a decision on their intent ions, but are believed likely to let the matter rest. Today is the deadline for lodging appeals.

Dublin's appeal will be heard by the GAA's management committee next Friday afternoon at the beginning of this year's annual congress in Dublin.

It will come as no surprise that Dublin have decided to appeal all elements of their suspensions. The appeal against the suspension from this year's championship has possible ramifications for Sunday's Leinster under 21 final between Meath and Westmeath. Meath had been due to play Dublin in the semi finals prior to the imposition of the ban.

In a separate development at last night's Dublin meeting, the county board decided to refer a complaint arising from the match, (presumably a reference to Jason Sherlock's written complaint following an altercation with county vice chairman Paddy Delaney) to the board's management committee.

The board declined to issue any statement on either issue after last night's meeting.

Penalties imposed on Dublin in the wake of the match included a two year suspension to player Damien Bolger, a one year ban on team manager Dave Billings, and the suspension of the county from this and next year's under 21 championship.

It is hard to envisage the management committee of the GAA being that impressed by Dublin's appeal given the widespread welcome accorded the Leinster Council for taking the severe stand they did. Any dilution of the punishments would also be seen as tending to undermine the council.

Further down the road and at a stage when the passions currently siding around the issue have cooled a little, it is possible that the Leinster Council could consider looking at the punishments again.

Appeals could also be made next year to the Mercy Committee of the GAA which normally convenes around Congress, but under the new under 21 timetable, that would be too late as the All Ireland final for this and probably next year is due to be played in May.

Offaly have left the matter of players' appeals up to the individuals and three of them, Ivan Dunne, Stephen Byrne and Adrian Mahon - the substitutes who got involved in the fracas - are thought likely to proceed with appeals.

Meanwhile, in Donegal, a major development is reverberating around the county with the news that last year's football captain Noel Hegarty has been dropped from the county panel. Hegarty, from the Naomh Columba club and All Ireland medallist at corner back in 1992, had only returned to action recently after a groin operation.

His reappearance in the McKenna Cup match against Tyrone last month was encouraging and his return was regarded as a substantial lift for the county in the run up to this year's championship. His omission from the panel is because of failure to attend training sessions.

This controversy constitutes a further headache for Donegal manager PJ McGowan after a lean year which has seen the county win only one competitive match since defeating Cork in the NFL semi finals nearly 12 months ago. It also follows the decision by another veteran of 1992, Martin Gavigan, to leave the panel for domestic reasons.

Croke Park is due to release a statement today on the main recommendations' of the GAA's amateurism sub committee. The proposals are believed to include the right of players to earn money from commercial endorsements, improved recommended rates of mileage expenses and prompter payment of medical and dental costs incurred by players.

The go ahead for endorsements is interesting because although it was widely assumed that the decision would go that way, the GAA's director general Liam Mulvihill made some discouraging statements on the issue, particularly at this year's Dublin Convention last January.

"Since the appointment of the sub committee," he said at the time, "there has been speculation and I would be worried at what's being said. We should remember that any sport - athletics, rugby - which has liberated its players in terms of endorsement has found itself on a slippery slope where the matter has got quickly out of control."

Although there has been no announcement on the issue, GAA PRO Danny Lynch said yesterday that this year's NFL semi finals "will in all likelihood" be arranged for Croke Park on April 20th. The last time a League semifinal didn't take place at Headquarters was in 1989 when Cork faced Kerry in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

The Munster rivals are on course to meet in this year's final.