Limerick’s Hawk-Eye case set for CAC

The Limerick County Board’s appeal to the CCCC regarding last Sunday’s controversial All-Ireland MHC semi-final defeat to Galway after Hawk-Eye’s disastrous intervention fell on deaf ears as that body ruled yesterday they were precluded from hearing the objection.

The board has now decided to take their case to the Central Appeals Committee (CAC).

Limerick appealed the three-point defeat following a glitch with the Hawk-Eye score detection system, showing Barry Nash’s disputed effort 24 seconds into the contest to be wide. Television replays later confirmed Hawk-Eye had got the decision wrong.

After the CCCC ruling, Limerick are now going further.

“We were expecting to get our objection heard but unfortunately that wasn’t the case and we now move on to the next level,” Limerick County Board Secretary Mike O'Riordan told RTE’s Championship Matters last night.

“We will be lodging an appeal to the Central Appeals Committee.

“We will take this as far as it can go. If necessary we will go to the DRA.”

Limerick’s objection will be heard by the Central Appeals Committee in the next three days.

The CCCC convened in Thurles yesterday to discuss the objection, but were precluded by rule 7.10 from overturning the result — no objection or counter-objection maybe submitted on grounds that a referee had incorrectly allowed or failed to allow a score.

Manger Jerry Wallace launched a stinging attack on Hawk-Eye, claiming the technological error has had huge repercussions for his panel.

“The mood is traumatic amongst the players, their parents and anyone involved in Limerick minor hurling” he told RTÉ Sport.

“The players have had to contend with playing an All-Ireland minor semi-final, having to receive their Leaving Cert results and have had to deal with CAO points that place them in college.

“My view is that Hawk-Eye, at this moment in time, has let the association down. It has let players down and it has let managers down. It has failed.”

Wallace, a former trainer of both the Limerick and Cork senior hurling teams, questioned the grounds on which the score detection system was passed at last year’s GAA congress.

“We are all aware of [the support for Hawk-Eye], but what was it sold on?” he questioned.

“Was it sold on the basis that it was infallible, that it could not make a mistake?

“Not alone do we not have confidence in Hawk-Eye, but how could the upcoming All-Ireland finalists managers Davy Fitzgerald and Jimmy Barry-Murphy have confidence in a system that has proven to be not as infallible as it was claimed to be.”