Louth Robbed!

[Donny B.]

Disgraceful end to the Leinster final.

Awful to see the Ref being attacked as he's leaving the field, after giving an admittedly terrible decision to allow a goal that was thrown into the net.

[SCG]

Not sure that much will be done about it. It seems to be a less serious office than a student on a J1 visa playing for a team over there while registered for a local club! That seems to be the ultimate offence in GAA world!

[Cianostays]

The fans who attacked the ref and stewards after the match should be banned for life.

Louth should be offered a replay as that incorrect decision was the last play of the match and cost them the Leinster title!

[FatBoyChoice]

Don't agree it should be replayed, would set a precedent that could wreck the championship.

If anything Louth should be thrown out of the championship. I have heard stories from mates at game ( as spectators and gardai) and can't believe some of the thuggery involved. Minority or not the GAA has to come down hard on these thugs.

[thecoolfreak]

Don't agree it should be replayed, would set a precedent that could wreck thr championship.

If anything Louth should be thrown out of the championship. I have heard stories from mates at game ( as spectators and gardai) and can't believe some of the thuggery involved. Minority or not the GAA has to come down hard on these thugs.

Why? How can Louth County Board control the behaviour of fans in Croke Park? Those who came onto the pitch and attacked the ref should be banned for life. But why should the Louth players have to suffer cause of the actions of a few idiots. Those guys were robbed of what will probably be their only chance at a Leinster title because of the sheer incompetence of the ref and his umpires.

I hope that Meath County Board and palyers come out and admit that they didn't deserve the win and at least offer a replay. A replay probably won't happen but at the very least Meath should make the gesture. I have to say that I have lost a lot of respect for Joe Sheridan following his interview after the game. He knows it wasn't a legitimate goal and he should at least admit that much

[ceemec]

Sheridan was a disgrace in his interview. He knows exactly what happened and I hope he's suitably ashamed of himself after that.

The one good thing that may come out of this is that the GAA can no longer sweep these incidents under the carpet. A high profile attack on a referee on national television may force them to actually acknowledge the fact that the game operates under a cloud of parochial aggression up and down the country. This incident is hardly an unprecedented. Many will recall the incident in a Tipperary hurling match earlier this year where a referee was attacked with a hurl. I believe the official numbers of reported incidents in relation to abuse of officials were approaching 200 in 2009. These were just the ones reported. I suspect there are plenty more where referees are subjected to verbal intimidation and don't bother reporting it as they simply see it as part of the game.

The Louth fans that were involved in the incident today will probably be given life time bans but do we actually think they'll be enforced? I'd have little doubt as to them being able to get tickets to another inter county fixture and attend unchecked. There's a lot more that needs to be done than simply addressing today's incident. Tomorrow morning, that incident will be viewed on YouTube everywhere and the GAA will not come off well. They may be an amateur organisation but they need to address these issues in a professional and decisive manner.

[nelly the elephant]

Sheridan was a disgrace in his interview. He knows exactly what happened and I hope he's suitably ashamed of himself after that.

The one good thing that may come out of this is that the GAA can no longer sweep these incidents under the carpet. A high profile attack on a referee on national television may force them to actually acknowledge the fact that the game operates under a cloud of parochial aggression up and down the country. This incident is hardly an unprecedented. Many will recall the incident in a Tipperary hurling match earlier this year where a referee was attacked with a hurl. I believe the official numbers of reported incidents in relation to abuse of officials were approaching 200 in 2009. These were just the ones reported. I suspect there are plenty more where referees are subjected to verbal intimidation and don't bother reporting it as they simply see it as part of the game.

The Louth fans that were involved in the incident today will probably be given life time bans but do we actually think they'll be enforced? I'd have little doubt as to them being able to get tickets to another inter county fixture and attend unchecked. There's a lot more that needs to be done than simply addressing today's incident. Tomorrow morning, that incident will be viewed on YouTube everywhere and the GAA will not come off well. They may be an amateur organisation but they need to address these issues in a professional and decisive manner.

Agree 100%. I've said it before,the blackguardism that blights Gaelic games will be it's downfall. Absolutely shameful scenes earlier in Croke Park. Emotions were obviously running high and the referee(and umpires!) made a terrible mistake-but a mistake it was. It was absolutely outrageous what happened at the final whistle and the GAA needs to act now and send a message.

[FatBoyChoice]

Don't agree it should be replayed, would set a precedent that could wreck thr championship.

If anything Louth should be thrown out of the championship. I have heard stories from mates at game ( as spectators and gardai) and can't believe some of the thuggery involved. Minority or not the GAA has to come down hard on these thugs.

Why? How can Louth County Board control the behaviour of fans in Croke Park?

Ok, I admit it would be very harsh on Louth players but something extreme needs to be done to make a statement and stop this happening again. In any case Meath will probably be pressured into offering replay.

[Darce]

Why blame the ref? His Umps had a chance to disallow it but didn't. Can't just blame one guy

its been bubbling like that under the radar, at intermediate and Junior matches for a long while. Not to mention the unwillingness of the GAA to address the pitch invasion issue in CP

[waterboy]

I was at the match sitting in the premium level at the corner of the Cusack and Davin stands, so had a perfect view of the "goal" and subsequent behavior of the Louth fans. I had just broke the bad news to the missus that it wasn't a goal as he had just carried the ball across the line while she and the Meath fans near me were going bonkers celebrating when to my disbelief the umpire picked up the green flag to award it.

I have to say the Louth players I feel have to accept some responsibility for their role in the crowd violence, as 3 Louth players tried one after the other to deck a Meath player (didn't cop who the Meath player was but he spent the next minute or two getting treated for a cramp in his leg) for absolutely no reason just after the goal was awarded just beneath me. All missed with their punches but I don't think it's any coincidence that it was that section of fans where those punches were thrown that were the ones that then ran onto the pitch to attack and lauch bottles from the stands at the ref when he tried running down the tunnel. One bottle thrown from the lower Davin hit a steward square on the head. Absolutely disgraceful carry on no matter how badly you feel cheated out of a result. Ironically, me and the missus were only talking about barriers and keeping supporters off the pitch after matches not 5 minutes before all the chaos kicked off, Croke park and the Gardai need to come up with a plan to keep supporters off the pitch and stick with it instead of going to Plan B straight away.

While I think Meath should do the right thing and offer Louth a rematch, I also think the GAA should kick Louth out of the Championship for the behavior of their players, which set such a poor example for their fans.

I know the ref will probably catch most of the blame but as a neutral I thought he had a good game and was let down by his umpires at a crucial time.

[meinster]

Like waterboy, the ref had a very good game, I thought. He missed the square ball, but I'm not sure what he could have done about the goal decision other than take his umpire's word. The only other flaw in his day's performance was not to get off the field long before the gardaí arrived to protect him (and what exactly took them so long? it was a good 30-45 seconds after he was first hit).

Like Darce, and others, I agree that there needs to be an end to pitch invasions in stadia of this size. Regardless of any calls for it to stay for traditional reasons. I don't see any reason for this not to be in place for next season (and I'm all for trying less-obtrusive schemes than fixed fencing, etc.; as long as there is swift and adequate action).

There can't be a replay, even if Meath are sporting enough to offer it (and a good number of there supporters have suggested they do, in fairness). It would undermine all officiating from now on, would mean that every close call (like the munster final yesterday) would lead to demands for a replay. It would mean a process would have to be in place to examine such demands, and would mean that you never truly knew if you'd won a cup until later in the week, at the earliest. Officials make mistakes, as they are human, so all the GAA should do is examine each official's role in this mistake, mark their cards, and maybe examine how to prevent it in the future (top-up training for umpires, or something?). A replay is not the answer. Also, the CCCC should officially declare that they except the goal should not have been allowed (to confirm the hollow victory Meath have won). Louth should feel hard done by, but really the losing of the game was failing to convert any of the 3 goal chances they had (2 of them extremely probably chances too), and the number of wides.

Also of interest will be the number of yellow cards in the ref's report. Was one of them a second yellow? A number of Louth players verbally abused the ref at a time when it was obvious there was significant concern for his safety. While the Louth manager did his best to defend the ref from his own supporters (some of who saw fit to punch him, as a result; that's a classy supporter), he shouldn't have been there. He should have been doing his job and tending to his team; not some media-aware meaningless pleading with the ref when the game was over.

Will the clubs and fellow-supporters of Louth work with the officials to ensure the culprits don't get to another game? Or will it be the local "ah jaysus johnny went a bit mad, but that's because he loves the game so much" defence? There's not much the GAA, or the Louth county board, can be expected to do about life-time bans without the cooperation of the local clubs, so it's up to them to stand up to this, if they actually want to. As with all things GAA, it's up to the clubs (but only if they want to). Hopefully the gardaí have enough evidence to charge some of the more serious assault cases, especially the bottle throwers (a low class of cowardly scum).

A sad day for the GAA, but more because of the actions of a number of supporters (Meath and Louth, but the latter mainly). I was saddened (genuinely) as a GAA supporter anyway.

[Broken Wing]

The ref didn't take the Umpire's word for it. The Umpire didn't award the goal and hadn't raised the flag until the ref ran in and told him to do so.

I was full of sympathy for Louth until some of their supporters atacked the ref.

[Donny B.]

Like waterboy, the ref had a very good game, I thought. He missed the square ball, but I'm not sure what he could have done about the goal decision other than take his umpire's word.

I'm sorry but the ref is completely to blame for the goal being allowed. He had a decent enough view of it to be able to see no hand or foot helped it over the line. Then when the Louth players reacted as they did, he seemed more concerned with booking them for their reaction than actually listening to what they were saying. When he was finally convinced to talk to the umpire, he spoke to only one and just told him to raise his goal flag, so he didn't 'consult' at all. He should of course sent all the players away from him and calmly spoken to both umpires, especially as the other umpire had a near perfect view of the incident. He knew how massive a score it was in the game and should have done everything in his power to make sure it was the right call. He completely failed on all fronts and just saying he's an amateur giving up his time etc. etc. doesn't excuse his actions. He should never referee a county game again.

I can completely understand the fury of the Louth fans, but can't condone the actions of the thugs who attacked him. Once again it shows that fans should never be allowed on the pitch after matches.

[Broken Wing]

The Louth manager claims the ref told him he thought it was a penalty. No decision had been made (I presume as no signal of any sort had been given) when the Louth players were in his face about it. Maybe he took it upon himself to award a penalty goal (I know there's no such thing) in reaction to their reaction.

After getting attacked on the pitch at HQ would he want to referee again?

(Is this going to be the GAA's Henry handball?)

[Donny B.]

The Louth manager claims the ref told him he thought it was a penalty. No decision had been made (I presume as no signal of any sort had been given) when the Louth players were in his face about it. Maybe he took it upon himself to award a penalty goal (I know there's no such thing) in reaction to their reaction.

There was talk about a penalty alright but the replays showed Sheridan was not pushed.

[Broken Wing]

Fair enough. I was off to Punchestown after the match and have The Sunday Game taped so I've not seen all the analysis yet.

[waterboy]

I hadn't realised it was the ref that awarded the goal, I thought he wasn't giving until the umpire spoke with him where it appears it was the other way around. Still human error and these things will always happen, even when TMO's are used there are still mistakes macde. The ref obviously felt certain it was a goal otherwise he would have consulted more with his umpires.

Agree with Meinster that the replay shouldn't be played as it'll just cause chaos down the line with teams appealing dodgy points which have been awarded etc. If the Meach county board offer the replay I think Louth should thank them and decline, they are still in the Championship.

[olaf the fat]

only watched "the sunday game" and read the times this morning, so really bad 2nd hand info.
A couple of thing strike me(bad pun) first the ref had gone all nazi after the whistle, staying around to argue with and then book players this pretty much lead to things exploding, and then that Meath players were punched by Louth players after the game. Pictures in the paper looks pretty ugly - seemed like the lad that was sent off landing a fairly decent punch - this seem to be as players were swapping jerseys

Now the ref was at fault, I can understand him making a wrong call, just like rugby its a fast game with lots of players, but did his umpire raise his flag before the ref had to tell him? Staying on the pitch and engaging and then booking players was wrong - it should have been "dressingroom pronto - if they want a chat they can knock on the door". Any supporter involved in the attacks on the ref should be charged with assault and banned from all Gaa grounds(a louth fan wont be hurt by a croke park ban ) and their local clubs.

I dont know if they will get a replay, they are in the qualifers anyway but Meath should be cofident enough to handle them in a replay - if there is a replay granted louth may be missing a couple of players due to their antics after the final whistle.

Lord, I never expected to say/write anything in defence(no matter how slight) of a Meath player!

[meinster]

I'm sorry but the ref is completely to blame for the goal being allowed.

No need to apologise, because it does appear he didn't use his umpires at all (as others have since suggested, and different angles show). I don't think he was in a good position to call it though. 13m out with half the players within the small square is not a good vantage point. Other points still stand (he had a good game apart from that blip and, whatever the result/mistake, there is absolutely no excuse for what went on).

[Mackman15]

Close your eyes for a moment and try to picture the scene of a similar post match riot in the RDS........


No, neither can I.