Dunshaughlin are hoping that tomorrow night's meeting of the GAA's Games Administration Committee (GAC) can find a way for club captain Aidan Kealy to play in Sunday's All-Ireland club semi-final against Crossmolina.

Kealy has been serving a six-month suspension since last September, when he was reported for jostling a linesman at the Kilmacud Crokes All-ireland sevens. At the time he wasn't playing on the field but waiting on the sideline.

Referee Michael Collins of Cork was told about the incident, and checked with the linesman at half-time before citing Kealy in his report. The Dunshaughlin player received the prescribed six-month ban.

A sense of grievance has existed within Meath at the punishment as the player denies that he committed the offence.

The matter has been complicated by the linesman's subsequent retraction of the charge, by fax, to the original meeting of the GAC and, it is expected, in the form of an affidavit to tomorrow night's hearing.

In a further twist Kealy inquired whether he would be eligible to play in last month's county league final given that January is a month that doesn't count in the serving of a suspension. He was given incorrect advice to the effect that he would still be ineligible to play, whereas a proper reading of the rule indicates that he should have been given the go-ahead.

Overlaying the whole controversy has been Dunshaughlin's march to a first Leinster football title, accomplished after another epic tilt with defending champions Rathnew and a final win over Mattock Rangers.

As a result, Kealy has missed one of the most memorable periods in his club's history as well as the opportunity to lift the Leinster club trophy.

An appeal to the GAA's Re-instatement Committee (formerly the Mercy Committee) was ruled out on the grounds that such appeals are not permitted in the case of playing offences - as opposed to registration and technical breaches.

It is hard to know what the GAC can do to alleviate Kealy's plight. They are fairly certain not to entertain the linesman's retraction, as to do so could trigger a flood of similar revised opinions, and the GAA - through president Seán McCague - made a point last summer of ruling out similar recanting on the part of match referees.

There is no alternative evidence, as TG4, which televised the Kilmacud event, were recording another match at the time of the incident.

Yet Kealy's is a case that features definite injustice in that he was wrongly deprived of a chance to captain his team to league success.

It may be that GAC will recognise that wrong, but of itself that doesn't offer a way out of the original incident's implications.

Also on the agenda will be a report from Kildare referee Michael Monaghan that Cork's Fionan Murray used abusive language to him as the match official was showing the player a red card during the floodlit NFL match against Kerry.

If Murray is found guilty he will have to serve an eight-week suspension, which effectively ends his league campaign unless Cork reach the knockout stages.