Sludden set to return next month

Controversial referee Martin Sludden is set to return to inter-county action for the first time since last summer’s infamous Leinster final.

The Tyrone official has been appointed to take charge of the Dr McKenna Cup tie between Armagh and Antrim on January 9.

It will be his first game at inter-county level since the dramatic provincial decider between Louth and Meath last July. Sludden wrongly awarded a stoppage time goal to Meath, which denied Louth a first Leinster title in more than 50 years.