A miscalculation over the number of legal substitutes has left Na Fianna in danger of losing their place in the Leinster club football final, despite a convincing win over Sarsfields in yesterday's semi-final replay in Navan.
The nine-point margin (3-11 to 1-8) left no debate that the Dublin champions were the better team on the day, yet, within moments of the final whistle, a major debate started as to how many substitutes they had used. Repeated counts in the Press Box all made it six, more than the allowed five.
Shortly after, referee SΘamus McCormack confirmed he had six substitute slips in his possession, although he couldn't comment further. Under the GAA's official rules, a winning team that uses an illegal number of substitutes faces forfeiture of the game.
The Leinster Council now takes the decision on whether or not to enforce that rule, but will first await the official referee's report. Leinster Council chairman SΘamus Aldridge also refrained from commenting until after the referee's report was examined and the final word therefore is likely to be heard within the next 48 hours.
Na Fianna's error occurred at a time when they were coasting towards the final, leading the Kildare champions 3-9 to 1-7 thanks to Jason Sherlock's second goal.
They then made four substitutions in the final four minutes of the game, starting with Sherlock, then Noel ╙ Murch· and Ian Foley and finally Dessie Farrell a minute into added-time.
Previously, they had substituted Tommo Lynch (half-time) and Pat McGeeney (after 47 minutes). Sherlock did receive a facial knock before coming off, but the blood substitution rule introduced in last summer's championship does not apply in club fixtures.
As they left their dressingroom, the Na Fianna players appeared surprised and embarrassed by the situation, but team manager Mick Galvin wasn't prepared to dwell on the consequences: "I don't want to discus it now, because I honestly don't know what the facts are. All I can say is that I'm very proud of the team, and I think they were deserving winners." Galvin is only a recent convert to management (this was only his third game in charge) but clearly nobody was taking responsibility for the error.
Sarsfields were also remaining tight-lipped. Club chairman Brendan Ryan said the matter was not for them to discuss, and they would await the decision of the Leinster Council before making any comment.
