Christy Ring Cup Final: Westmeath are not interested in giving Down a replay of the Christy Ring Cup final despite a timekeeping error by referee Denis Richardson in last Sunday's inaugural decider.
The Down County Board have asked the Central Disciplinary Committee and Westmeath to consider a replay because Limerick native Richardson blew for half time after only 33 minutes. Westmeath were leading 0-12 to 0-9 and went on to win by two points and thereby qualify for next year's Liam McCarthy Cup.
A Down County Board statement read: "They have asked the committee to consider refixing the match, in light of the referee's failure to adhere to the rules in relation to the stipulated minimum playing time. The county board felt they had grounds to lodge an official protest but decided against this option at a meeting in Clonduff on Monday night. The letter has been copied to the Westmeath county committee, with a covering letter inviting them to voluntarily agree to a refixture, citing the Clare gesture to Offaly in 1998 as a precedent."
On Monday, GAA president Seán Kelly disagreed that a precedent for a replay was already in place from the 1998 All-Ireland semi-final replay, when referee Jimmy Cooney whistled for full-time two minutes too early. Kelly said the comparison doesn't stand as one incident occurred in the first half while the other was for full time.
Yet, the official GAA rules seem to support Down as it states quite clearly that both halves of a game must be 35 minutes in length.
In 1998 Clare accepted Offaly's right to a replay, making it very easy for the powers that be to grant a re-fixture, but Westmeath do not seem similarly inclined.
County board chairman Séamus Whelan stated yesterday that no immediate decision could be made as several members of the management committee are away on holidays and the main priority at present is to play the backlog of hurling championship matches.
"We will defend our case," said Whelan. "Sure, the decision was equal for both teams and in the end we won the Christy Ring Cup. We intend to continue plans to bring the cup around all the schools and will continue our fundraising efforts for New York."
Part of the prize for winning the competition is a trip to New York on October 24th.
Offaly reversed the three-point deficit seven years ago and went on to win the All-Ireland. Also, Offaly fans made a significant statement in response to stewards rushing Cooney off the field as they sat in protest on the halfway line to disrupt the under-21 encounter between Kerry and Kildare.
Meanwhile, Antrim football chairman Séamus O'Hare is adamant the Ulster county did not snub the Tommy Murphy Cup, but were in fact unable to compete due to a fixture clash caused by the putting back their match against Tipperary by two weeks.
"The fixture change coincided with Antrim hurling championship fixtures," said O'Hare. "Every door I tried to open to get a team was slammed in my face. We would have grossly undermined the Murphy Cup if we had sent down (to Thurles) a hugely under-strength team."
O'Hare also pointed out their commitment to the competition last year when several counties opted out. Also, even if Antrim had beaten Tipperary, this weekend's semi-final against Roscommon would have clashed with the football championship.
Ironically enough, the Tipperary and Roscommon match has been postponed, as the latter can't field a team due to their club commitments.
This situation becomes more farcical as the initial Antrim versus Tipperary fixture was only put back because of club fixture congestion in Tipperary.
