Sludden rides again!!

[Mike Sheehy]

In fairness to Sludden, fellas diving on the ground with the ball in hand is par for the course where he comes from.

[Applesisapples]

Personally i don't have a problem with Martin Sludden refereeing again, however he seems always to make "genuine mistakes" when refereeing Armagh, which in the past have influenced the outcome of games, draw your own conclusions.

[Carbery]

Return doubt for Sludden
Mystery surrounds the comeback of controversial referee Martin Sludden, who had been expected to take charge of Sunday's Dr McKenna Cup clash between Armagh and Antrim
Sludden was tipped to take charge of the game in Crossmaglen but, unusually, no referee has been appointed for that fixture, despite officials being named for all other games in that competition this weekend.
The Tyrone referee has not seen inter-county action since last summer's infamous Leinster final, which saw him award Meath a late goal that should have been disallowed in the dying moments of their win over Louth.
Sludden was subsequently rushed from the field amid ugly scenes.  The Dromore clubman has since refereed at club level, taking charge of the Ulster club quarter-final between Clontibret and Naomh Conaill in October.
Ulster Council officials could not be contacted last night to confirm whether Sludden would have refereed the game.

Irish Independent
Wednesday 5 January 2011

[HiMucker]

If he takes a wrong turn and ends up in Hackballs Cross he could be in bother!!

Awk sure they are all just humble pig farmers from there 

[Archie Mitchell]

Coming to a game near you ...

Also, no more white coats for the umpires.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/sludden-keeps-elite-status-2636781.html

Sludden keeps elite status

Wednesday May 04 2011

Martin Sludden has retained his position on the GAA's inner circle of top referees -- despite his high-profile blunder in last year's Leinster football final between Meath and Louth.

The Tyrone official has made the list of 18 referees who will be available for championship matches over the course of the next four months.

Referees have been informed over their status in recent weeks and it has emerged that Sludden has not paid the ultimate price for the controversy at the end of last year's Leinster football decider at Croke Park.

Sludden infamously allowed Meath's injury-time winning goal to stand as Louth were denied their first Leinster title in 53 years. TV replays showed that the goal should have been disallowed, as Joe Sheridan had thrown the ball over the line.

The decision caused outrage among Louth supporters, some of whom vented their fury by remonstratng with the official within seconds of the final whistle. Sludden did not subsequently referee another championship match in 2010 and has been brought gently back to action this year with a series of league matches in Division 2 and Division 3.

Punish

There was much speculation that Sludden would not feature in the top-tier of referees as a consequence of that mistake, but the appointments committee has opted not to punish him for the Leinster final and his status has been preserved.

The only mild surprise among the list is the omission of Fermanagh's Martin Higgins, who has featured on championship panels in recent years.

Some high-profile referees have had to retire in recent months and will not be featuring on this year's championship panel. Donegal's Jimmy White and Galway's Gearoid O Conamha have both had to sign off as they had reached the age of 50, the upper ceiling for officials for the last two years.

And Pat McEnaney will join them at the end of the season as he's also due to reach the half-century mark in 2011. McEnaney began his last campaign as an inter-county referee in New York at the weekend, when he took charge of the Connacht SFC quarter-final between the home side and Roscommon.

He's one of four Ulster referees included, joining Sludden, Armagh's Joe McQuillan from Cavan and Armagh's Padraig Hughes.

Connacht has the smallest representation with just two, the Duffy brothers from Sligo. Meath are the best represented county with three of the 18 places, as Joey Curley has been promoted to join David Coldrick and Cormac Reilly.

Kerry have also re-established representation with Padraig O'Sullivan also promoted to championship status.

Leinster have almost half of the football referees on the panel, with the three Meath men joined by Laois pair Maurice Deegan and Eddie Kinsella, Syl Doyle from Wexford, Longford's Derek Fahy and Pat Fox from Westmeath.

The hurling referees list is along expected lines, with Barry Kelly back after opting out last season because of family reasons.

Referees will be assisted by umpires in sparkling new apparel from next week with AFL umpire-style shirts being unveiled as the white coats are ditched.

Meanwhile, the GAA will have a clearer picture about the possible future use of technology to assist referees sometime next week. Hawk-Eye technologies, the company which has carried out feasibility studies at two recent matches at Croke Park, are due to report back to the GAA's research committee in the next 10 days.

The company will give a presentation on their findings on the same night at Croke Park from the recent Dublin v Kilkenny hurling match and the Down v Dublin football match.

No further tests were conducted at any other grounds, but that may happen in the coming months should the green light be given. The main issue is still likely to be cost involved, with the technology potentially required at up to 13-14 venues when the football qualifiers kick in at the end of June.

- Colm Key

[Hardy]

What a load of shite.

[Olly]

Sludden will be given every Dublin game. With the refs relieved of explaining their decisions, he'll land Sam for the Jacks.

[Jinxy]

Best of luck for the season Martin. 

[Rossfan]

Connacht has the smallest representation with just two, the Duffy brothers from Sligo.

The curse of Cromwell still haunts us 
I suppose they're better than the Aughnasheelin ********

[RedandGreenSniper]

Connacht has the smallest representation with just two, the Duffy brothers from Sligo.

The curse of Cromwell still haunts us 
I suppose they're better than the Aughnasheelin ********

Whilst not remembering Prior myself, he must have been woeful if that's what you're saying about him. The two boys are impossible. And as for Sludden retaining his status, mother of God. Not just the Sheridan goal and how he acted but his incredibly ignorant manner towards players in every game I've ever seen him referee. Padraig Hughes, Sludden, the Duffys, Cormac Reilly - there's going to be a controversial summer ahead of us.

[Rossfan]

We in Roscommon will never forget the P***r 
over what he did to us in Tuam in 1998.

[RedandGreenSniper]

We in Roscommon will never forget the P***r 
over what he did to us in Tuam in 1998.

Go on . . . I actually don't remember that one.

[Rossfan]

The new exciting young Galway team  whom everybody in Connacht GAA circles loved and hopedcould go on to win Sam were struggling big time on a wet oul hoor o' a day v unfashionable Roscommon whom nobody in Connacht GAA circles likes.
Ros lead by a point with time almost up when the Galway full back Fahy picks ball straight from ground in front of P****.
No free ball is cleared down other end.
Cliffie McDonald knocks ball away from a Galway forward.
P**** 70 or 80 metres away slaps his own shoulder , blows whistle and gives Galway a close in free to save their bacon .
They bet us by a goal ( error by goalkeeper)  in extra time in the replay and thanks to Bannon's refereeing and Mick O'Dwyer's silly tactics they went on to win Sam.

Hope I'm not coming across as   ever so slightly bitter 

[SLIGONIAN]

Was sickened by Sludden last yr, but he reffed our game against Antrim and was by far the best ref i seen during the league.

Last yr i thought maurice deegan was very good in our game against Galway. I just want fairness, luckily for us, Jimmy white has retired who i thought favoured mayo and roscommon in our games last yr. Hopefully we'll get better rub of the green this yr.

Marty duffy i find better than michael, marty has more good days than bad ones imo but michael is useless mostly and his interpretation of the game is a fcking joke.

Refs are deciding who wins and loses with there decisions, and im one of the few that believes refereeing bias is rampant in the GAA and has been for eons from club football, to underage to senior intercounty.

[Blowitupref]

Was sickened by Sludden last yr, but he reffed our game against Antrim and was by far the best ref i seen during the league.

Last yr i thought maurice deegan was very good in our game against Galway. I just want fairness, luckily for us, Jimmy white has retired who i thought favoured mayo and roscommon in our games last yr. Hopefully we'll get better rub of the green this yr.

Marty duffy i find better than michael, marty has more good days than bad ones imo but michael is useless mostly and his interpretation of the game is a fcking joke.

Refs are deciding who wins and loses with there decisions, and im one of the few that believes refereeing bias is rampant in the GAA and has been for eons from club football, to underage to senior intercounty.

Didn't see the Mayo game however watching it on telly Jimmy white seemed fair in the Connacht final?