Louth-Meath saga rumbles on

It is official - Meath GAA officials will not be offering an olive branch to Louth in the form of a replay, following the controversial finish to Sunday's Leinster SFC final at Croke Park.

The Royal County side won the provincial decider by 1-12 to 1-10 thanks to Joe Sheridan's late goal, but the GAA on Monday issued a statement in which referee Martin Sludden admitted that he had made a mistake in awarding the goal.

The 14-person Meath GAA Executive met tonight at 8.30pm outside Navan, before an invitation was extended to the waiting media to receive a press statement a little over an hour later.

In the statement, the Meath County Board confirmed that it had received a copy of the referee's report on Tuesday, and examined it in great detail.

"Coiste na Mi (Meath County Board) has today received a copy of the referee's report on Sunday's Leinster final. The referee has indicated in his report that he blew the whistle for a penalty but changed his mind and awarded the goal by Joe Sheridan when he saw that the ball had crossed the line," the statement read.

"Coiste na Mi has also been advised today by the Leinster Competitions Control Committee that, in accordance with Riail (rule) 6.41 T.O. and acting on the referee's report of the above game, Meath are the winners.

"Having considered all aspects of the game and subsequent suggestions, as well as the referee's report and the Leinster Council communication, Coiste na Mi wishes to confirm that, as far as it is concerned, this is the end of the matter."

The Meath officials also hit out in their statement over the way they were backed into a corner to make a decision on whether or not to grant a replay.

"Coiste na Mi wishes to express its disappointment at the manner in which we and the management and squad have been placed in such an unenviable position over the past two days," the statement concluded.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the Meath GAA Executive actually voted in favour of offering a replay to Louth, before their full County Board meeting with clubs last night at Teach na Teamhrach outside Navan.

However, while Meath have now washed their hands clean of the issue of offering a replay, it is likely that the Louth County Board will try to pursue the matter further.

They may choose to go down the legal route.

Indeed, a legal representative examined Sludden's report at a meeting of Louth GAA officials in Dundalk today, at which Louth manager Peter Fitzpatrick was in attendance.