Dublin opted not to undertake one-to-one broadcast interviews following their 31-point win over Westmeath in the Leinster Football Championship semi-final on Sunday.

The decision is related to coverage of the incident with Diarmuid Connolly which saw the forward banned for 12 weeks after their game with Carlow, with manager Jim Gavin claiming there was an "assault on his good name" through the media analysis of it.

Interviews with print journalists were granted, with cameras permitted to be present, but there were no one-to-one interviews with broadcasters allowed.

There, at the print press conference, Gavin insisted: "We're talking to the media now and are open for any questions."

Referring to the incident involving Connolly, Gavin added: "First of all, we can't condone any player interfering with a match official, whether it's in the rule book or not.

"Diarmuid accepts that he made a mistake, and he accepted the suspension.

"For my part, what concerned me, was the way his good name was attacked before we even saw the referee's report.

"Freedom of expression is one of our rights in the Republic, but it's not absolute, each individual has his own rights, and I believe that his good name was affected by that."

Gavin spoke of his upset at coverage on The Sunday Game where Pat Spillane and Colm O'Rourke commented that "the pictures tell it all".

The Dublin boss said: "We had the national broadcaster, in their post-match review, both Pat Spillane and Colm O'Rourke, but particularly Pat, read out a predetermined statement, which was disappointing as both of them are teachers.

"You would hope that they would understand that people make mistakes and that due process should be allowed before we become judge, jury and executioner.

"We saw on Sky Sports reading the rule book out against him. Supporters have come to me and asked me what's going on, why is this imbalance happening and I'm really struggling to give them a balanced and proportionate answer.

"It was my decision to pursue it to the CHC, to get their opinion on it. We've received advice from senior counsel that if this went to arbitration that the case wouldn't hold, but Diarmuid didn't want that to happen.

"He just wanted to move on and in the best interest of the team that's what happened.

"I'm not condoning what happened, that's not the point. What happened afterwards, the assault on his good name, that's what I didn't like."

Asked what in particular angered the Dublin camp, he added: "The bile and the malevolent attitude that certain broadcasters went after him.

"An incident happened in the game and you need to let the referee’s report be issued and then we can reflect on it.

Jim Gavin explains Dublin's decision not to undertake one-to-one broadcast interviews after their 31-point win over Westmeath #RTEgaa pic.twitter.com/UionF75UpQ — RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) June 25, 2017

"I don’t condone what happened and neither does he. He said it was a mistake but people really went after him and that is disappointing from the Gaelic Athletic Association and the coverage that we have had in this sport over many years."

RTÉ GAA analyst Kevin Cassidy admitted it wasn't a move he expected from the Dublin camp: "I am [surprised] to be honest. I suppose the incident was fairly black and white. The severity of the punishment lies in the hands of Croke Park.

"I can't see the benefits to the Dublin backroom team or squads by doing this. I am a little bit disappointed."

Reflecting on the game, the former Donegal player said: "Dublin came here to make a statement. There was rumblings that Dublin were not good as they were and they weren't good against Carlow. But that was a real statement.

"To any Kildare team that thinks they can waltz through that, well they have another thing coming."