GAA president Jarlath Burns has defended the organisation’s disciplinary process in the wake of the recent tempestuous Kerry-Donegal encounter.Donegal manager Jim McGuinness escaped a 12-week suspension after referee Seán Hurson did not directly reference in his report McGuinness‘s shove on Kerry’s Diarmuid O’Connor during a half-time melee at the game in Killarney.By contrast, Dublin manager Ger Brennan is serving a three-month ban following a clash with Galway’s strength-and-conditioning coach Cian Breathnach McGinn during a league fixture in March.But Burns said if a 12-week suspension was seen as too harsh for such incidents then a motion should be brought to seek an amendment.“I heard people saying the GAA painted ourselves into a corner. No, we didn’t. We applied the rules. That’s all we do, we just apply the rules,” he said.“If people want to change the rules, bring a motion to Congress and we’ll change the rules.”Either way, Burns said coaches should not be getting involved in on-field scuffles.“It is wrong for a manager to go on to a field and touch any player or any official. None of this would have happened if managers, mentors and subs had stayed off the field and allowed the referee and the 30 players to do their business. The moment managers incur on to the field, they are entitled to be suspended, to face the sanctions, if the referee views that [behaviour] as being sanctionable,” he said.And Burns said the McGuinness and Brennan cases were different.“The Ger Brennan case was very simple, very straightforward. He was cited for the minimum contact with an opponent, there’s the sanction. That went through hearings, appeals, DRA [Disputes Resolution Authority], so it was a very robust process,” he said.Ger Brennan watches from the stands after receiving a red card in Dublin's league game against Galway in March. Photograph: James Crombie/INPHO “The difficulty was because it came in the very last game of the league, people feel it was very disproportionate because Ger missed out for 12 weeks, not only with his county. But he also takes the under-10s in his club, he wasn’t able to attend matches, he wasn’t able to attend training, he shipped a lot of abuse on social media – totally unfair and which I would utterly condemn.“Now the referee took a different view on that [McGuinness incident in Killarney]. Then whenever the CCCC meet, they have to consider whatever sanction is imposed, let’s say retrospectively, if the referee has decided not to act upon it, will that pass hearings, appeals and the DRA?“They have to be cognisant of that because there’s nothing more embarrassing than something done in good faith at CCCC and then losing it at hearings.“The referee was in the middle of that, the fourth official saw it [McGuinness incident], the referee referred to it in his report and left it at that.”In an interview at the launch of the 2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, Burns also spoke on other issues including progress on integration where a federal-type model was now under consideration.Jarlath Burns on:Integration “I feel in the last couple of weeks we’ve taken a couple of big steps forward. The LGFA presented a paper which is very interesting, which we are looking at. And essentially it is keeping the brand identity and keeping the integrity of each of those codes intact, because they are very strong identities.”GAA predicting a €1m deficit because of the new All-Ireland SFC format“We might come to the end of this year and see that it has balanced itself out, but we’re budgeting on our assumptions that we’ll have a million less because there are 16 fewer games. It speaks to this thing that people say the GAA are interested in getting money. Whenever a decision is made that’s for the betterment of our games, we will always make the right decision.”The timing of the SFC draw and why it was not done on The Sunday Game“If counties say they would prefer it, then there is no issue. The reason it’s on Morning Ireland is that half a million people tune in every morning. It’s a massive programme.”Holding the league hurling final in Limerick during the Ryder Cup“We spoke to the counties involved, they were not that keen on it because they just felt that it’s coming in at the middle of their own club championships. “JP McManus, when maybe the second biggest sporting competition in the world is coming to his village, what is he thinking about? He’s thinking about, ‘How can I use this to promote our native game?’ He deserves great credit for that. That’s why he thought putting the league final on the Tuesday of the Ryder Cup would really work when all of the world’s media is there. “The GPA are talking about putting on an exhibition match [instead], but I’m not sure if it will run because there isn’t going to be a cup presented and it’s not something that means [as much].”