McFadden was asked by Donegal County Board officials to receive a presentation on his 100th inter-county appearance, a presentation the player thought inappropriate in light of a bruising defeat in the Ulster Senior Football Championship during which he had been replaced by Adrian Hanlon, of all people. RTÉ's television cameras caught McFadden grinning ironically at the timing of such a request — but all irony was lost in the scramble to condemn the player's attitude. McFadden considered retiring amid all the furore, the misunderstanding, the calls for his head.