What should be done about the Leinster Final Fiasco?

[seafoid]

There is a clear need for video evidence during televised matches.  Go the whole hog and bring in innovations from other sports like penalty tries from rugby and the sin bin while you are at it. Thankfully in hurling Kilkenny are so far ahead of everyone else that these problems don't crop up on the radar 

Soccer has the same problems BTW. Joe Sheridan could be Luis Suarez II.

[SuperDooperCooper]

This is a difficult one to deal with really.
Louth were the better team and deserved to win and should have done so irrespective of the goal.
My heart goes out to the Louth team, the passionate and level headed management and their fans.
However I feel we are entering dangerous territory talking about replays - when and where would a replay be justified?
If the tables were reversed and Louth won in that fashion would a replay be asked for?
Should last years all-ireland be replayed as Darren bounced the ball twice for one score?
Does a replay only apply is an error occurs with the last score?
The hornets nest may be about to be opened here.
A lot of talk is about precedent where replays were awarded - no replay applied when:
Kerry goal that went wide first v Tipp in 1999;
Kerry goal disallowed v Kildare in semi final 1998;
Charlie Redmond staying on the pitch in 1995;
One of the twins getting two yellow cards v Dr Crokes in club final 2007.
If a replay is offered then every club side in the country will be looking for replays due to bad reffering!

[ross matt]

This is a difficult one to deal with really.
Louth were the better team and deserved to win and should have done so irrespective of the goal.
My heart goes out to the Louth team, the passionate and level headed management and their fans.
However I feel we are entering dangerous territory talking about replays - when and where would a replay be justified?
If the tables were reversed and Louth won in that fashion would a replay be asked for?
Should last years all-ireland be replayed as Darren bounced the ball twice for one score?
Does a replay only apply is an error occurs with the last score?
The hornets nest may be about to be opened here.
A lot of talk is about precedent where replays were awarded - no replay applied when:
Kerry goal that went wide first v Tipp in 1999;
Kerry goal disallowed v Kildare in semi final 1998;
Charlie Redmond staying on the pitch in 1995;
One of the twins getting two yellow cards v Dr Crokes in club final 2007.
If a replay is offered then every club side in the country will be looking for replays due to bad reffering!

Yeah agree with alot of that Superdoopercooper. A replay could leave alot of past and future matches open to questioning the result. But the only difference I suppose is yesterday's referee decision seems to have been so blatantly incorrect and costly.

[Hardy]

It's like the white calf campaign. It's only the cute cuddly ones the media loves that are campaigned for.

[kerrylions]

the umpires are as much to blame as the ref all they had to say was the ball was carried over the line and not played.many refs ask their umpires their opinions on decisions on the field eg.square balls,penaltys etc if their out the field or unsighted when the incident takes place ,its just pure common sense,isnt it better to try and get it right than having the fiasco that we had yesterday.

[pkerin]

When you think about it, Gaeilic Football has it all figured out. Soccer has all these problems of the ref missing stuff all the time. The hand ball crap we all had to deal with etc. etc. Not the GAA. We allready have, not one but two guys standing at the goals. Two Guys! How can we ever not get the right call when we have three people right there to see what happens. Boy we are so smart. Soccer has nothing on us. We have it all figured out. How can anything possibly go wrong........ Opps

[rionach 4]

the umpires are as much to blame as the ref all they had to say was the ball was carried over the line and not played.many refs ask their umpires their opinions on decisions on the field eg.square balls,penaltys etc if their out the field or unsighted when the incident takes place ,its just pure common sense,isnt it better to try and get it right than having the fiasco that we had yesterday.

I know kerry lions what you say is common sense or so it should be . but that is not the case . The referees are only instructed to consult the umpires if there is an off the ball incident or the dispute over a score ie point ,goal or otherwise . but not the technical legality.
I know this as I had a similar experience . The reason for this is that it would throw the responsibility from the referee onto the umpires . In many club games up and down the country umpires are often memebers from each club involved in the game. The umpire does not have the right to say he threw the ball.  he may well say it and the referee might take notice but it is not the umpires job..

[AN other]

This whole fiasco could see Louth's season extend further than it might had they won. They won't be short of motivation for the qualifiers.
Had they won yesterday they probably would have been happy enough with their leinster. They'll be pretty determined to win a few more matches now.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

On the bright side this uber blunder seems to have brought many new members to the board and caused many others to restart posting. Always a sliver lining on the shitheap.

[Croí na hÉireann]

I will be amazed if a replay is not offered to Louth. Like Eamonn O'Brien said yesterday, it would be near impossible to celebrate winning a title in that regard & they'll be forever associated with winning it in dire circumstances. Why, oh why did that idiot not consult with the umpires behind the goals, I couldn't believe it when he instructed him to raise the green flag. Anyways, that's been debated to death already but there will be a long shadow over Eastmeath for the rest of the season if they don't offer a replay & it'll be one that will hinder them in the long run. Best to take the medicine now to get it out of the system.

Shocking scenes at the end, glad to hear the steward is alright, why didn't the GAA leave the netting over the first 3 rows of seats that they had in position on Saturday? It's not as if the game was near a sell out. The GAA needs to forfeit these rows in Croker for finals till we get the message & stay off the pitch...

[saffron sam2]

The GAA will side with Louth on this one, an extra day out at Croke park will mean more €€€€€€

However county boards will challenge reults more often if a team is hard done by.

It's not up to the GAA it's up to Meath. Meath will do the right thing and go straight to the QF as Leinster Champions.

Would agree with that. Harsh on Louth.

This was an incident waiting to happen, as long as Martin Sludden was being appointed to referee inter-county matches.

FIFA have it right - look at the officials in the Lampard / Tevez incidents. "Get to fcuk and stay got to fcuk"

[Bord na Mona man]

The GAA needs to forfeit these rows in Croker for finals till we get the message & stay off the pitch...

One simple rule, if fans enter the playing area, then any cup presentation gets immediately abandoned.
The cup gets whisked away and handed to the winning captain in the dressing room.

The penny will eventually drop if this is actually done. If we keep pandering to yahoo-ism, invasions won't stop.

[GalwayBayBoy]

This whole fiasco could see Louth's season extend further than it might had they won. They won't be short of motivation for the qualifiers.
Had they won yesterday they probably would have been happy enough with their leinster. They'll be pretty determined to win a few more matches now.

Maybe but win another game or two in the qualifiers and it would be forgotten about in 12 months time anyway. A Leinster title for them would have meant the world and remembered for decades.

[thewobbler]

Bit late on this one myself, but if the game is replayed in any official capacity we may as well call time on our games and hand them over to liberal lefties to ruin them once and for all.

Sport is all about highs and lows, shocks and dramas. And the main reason for this is that when a game is over, it's over, and there is no going back in time.


Personally I understand the shock and frustation that Louth are going through. At one stage yesterday I was cheering the fellas on who were have having a swipe at Sludden, so annoyed was I - not at his mistake, but for his sheer arrogance in handling the situation.

But if Louth pursue a replay they will irrevocably change the nature of our games forever, and it's simply downright irresponsible and selfish for them to even consider their cause worthy enough for this kind of action.


The only fallout from yesterday's game should involve Sludden. He should be banned from any intercounty activity for a year. Not because he made a mistake, but because he didn't call on his umpires and linesmen for such an important decision. Referees need to be accountable too.

[Louth Exile]

You cheered on the gobshites who struck Sludden but think that irresponsible and selfish for an honourable man such as Fitzer to ask for a replay!!

This whole fiasco could see Louth's season extend further than it might had they won. They won't be short of motivation for the qualifiers.
Had they won yesterday they probably would have been happy enough with their leinster. They'll be pretty determined to win a few more matches now.

Maybe but win another game or two in the qualifiers and it would be forgotten about in 12 months time anyway. A Leinster title for them would have meant the world and remembered for decades.

100% Correct