Football

GAA must order a replay and Kilmacud should abide by their decision

A slap in the beak for justice? The GAA has to sort out the Glen-Kilmacud saga. Picture Mark Marlow.
A slap in the beak for justice? The GAA has to sort out the Glen-Kilmacud saga. Picture Mark Marlow. A slap in the beak for justice? The GAA has to sort out the Glen-Kilmacud saga. Picture Mark Marlow.

HINDSIGHT is a wonderful thing but what should have happened at Croke Park last Sunday would have been straightforward enough.

I understand there was a lot going on at the time, but the linesman should have alerted referee Derek O’Mahony that Kilmacud had two extra players on the field after Glen took their now-infamous injury-time 45.

Referee O’Mahony should then have instructed that the 45 be retaken – this time with 15 of the Kilmacud players on the field. It would have got messy then but not as messy as it is now. There would have been arguing, finger-pointing and cursing on the field but both parties would have had to accept the ruling.

The 45 would have been retaken and whatever happened then would have happened. That would have been the end of it.

Glen manager Malachy O’Rourke explained at the post-match press conference that he had asked for the 45 to be retaken at the time but his request was refused and so we’ve all been talking about this issue all week.

It has divided the country and there are plenty of genuine GAA people who maintain that Glen should accept what happened and let it go at that.

Yes, there are many thousands of hard luck stories out there: Players’ wrongly sent off/players wrongly left on, points given wide/wides given points, square balls, illegal players on the field etc etc etc.

But 10,000 wrongs don’t make a right and the big question facing the GAA now is: Do we have rules, or half-rules?

If we have rules and a rule has clearly been broken – which it obviously has been in this instance - then right is right and justice must be done. The GAA should order, not offer, a replay and playing it would be to both clubs’ advantage.

One fella suggested to me this week that the GAA should offer Glen a replay and that the Derry club should reject that offer and, with their boots planted firmly on the moral high ground, they should let the matter go at that.

But that would be unfair to Kilmacud. Yes, they contributed to this ruckus – I believe unwittingly – by having too many players on the field but they deserve the opportunity to win the Andy Merrigan Cup fairly and squarely. A tainted All-Ireland isn’t much good to anyone.

The word coming out of Dublin now is that Kilmacud will file their own objection if a replay is called for by the GAA Central Competitions Control Committee.

They could argue that Glen are to blame for the whole saga. They could argue that Danny Tallon should have waited until the players’ who had been subbed had gone off the field before he took the 45. Ok, they could argue that but it doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny.

Tallon could counter-argue that, in the heat of the battle, he didn’t realise that Kilmacud had 16-17 players still on the field and he would have acted differently had he known.

And, before we move on. I don’t accept that Glen were on a wing and prayer in those closing seconds. They were two points’ down but the conditions were absolutely ripe for a goal. Indeed, Conor Glass really should have scored in the play that led to the infamous 45.

Fair play to Kilmacud goalkeeper Conor Ferris who deserved his moment of redemption when saving that Glass shot. If there is a replay it’s him I’d feel sorriest for (if Kilmacud lose) because he had to carry the can for his poor pass which led to Kilcoo’s injury-time goal in the 2022.

He erased that negative memory with a brilliant save from Glass but Glen still had hope when the ball was placed for the 45.

Then Kilmacud made their two substitutions. Two men went on and one headed for the sideline.

Dara Mullin was literally the 16th man. He was on the goalline but it doesn’t matter that the ball didn’t come near him. His presence there meant that someone else was free to close down Conleth McGuckian when he took the shot that whistled wide just past the outstretched boot of Ryan Dougan who could easily have diverted the ball into the Kilmacud net.

Glen have been criticised for raising an objection but they were forced into doing so by the GAA sitting on their hands. The club had to do something.

I can understand manager O’Rourke saying, just minutes after the game was over, that he wouldn’t seek action to be taken but, when the dust settled, the Derry club had to make some sort of a case for themselves, they had to call for justice to be done as it is in other sports.

Take the case of Newry City versus Portadown in the Irish League this season for an example. Portadown won the game 3-1 but were deemed guilty of breaking the Irish League’s Rule 20h.

The Ports – who hadn’t won a game - listed Alberto Balde in their starting line-up but then switched him to the bench because he turned up late for the kick-off. Balde came on midway through the first half but Portadown had broken the rules because they hadn’t informed the ref and Newry of their late change.

Newry didn’t appeal, they didn’t have to.

There were rules, not half-rules and so Newry were awarded a 3-0 win and Portadown were fined £500.

No messing there and both clubs accepted the decision and moved on.

If soccer can sort these issues out, why can’t the GAA?

If our rules mean anything they need to be enforced and decisions have to be accepted by the clubs. Taking action over this might even have a drip, drip, drip effect right down to the grassroots of the Association.

Too many things are allowed to slide, too many blind eyes are turned and too many corners are cut.

This has got messy now and the GAA is duty-bound to sort it out.

See you at the replay I hope.