GAA inertia on '16th man' was for the greater good

The decision to wait for a Glen appeal was taken for the sake of all the GAA’s competitions control committees and referees

Fri, 27 Jan, 2023 - 06:35

John Fogarty

By doing little and saying nothing about the All-Ireland Club SFC final fall-out, the GAA has been accused of making a rod for their own backs this past week. Privately, they maintain their inactivity is saving them from a greater flogging.

To avoid setting a precedent that they fear would rock the organisation, the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) acted the way they did last Monday. Not that it was welcomed by the broader public or understood for that matter but their decision not to investigate a breach of rules and rather wait for an objection from Glen to initiate the process was taken for the sake of all the GAA’s competitions control committees and referees. Yes, those often grating words, the greater good.

It was felt if they had taken the problem of Kilmacud Crokes’ numerical advantage into their own hands, CCCs around the country would be expected to review every questionable contribution to the final scoreline. Without an objection, less and less would be left on the field. Instead of the referee’s decision being final, the organisers would be considered the true arbiters of games.

For all the reputational damage that the GAA has done to itself this past week, their inertia they consider the lesser of two evils. The idea that referees could lose authoritative powers at a time when their stock is both figuratively and literally was unconscionable. And so, the national CCC jumped on a grenade that otherwise would have exploded in the face of some of the match officials involved last Sunday.

A simple retake of the 45 with Dara Mullin and Paul Mannion off the field, as Glen manager Malachy O’Rourke had requested at the time, and there would be nothing more said about the matter. However, it’s understood Crokes’ excessive numbers weren’t mentioned in referee Derek O’Mahoney’s report.

Generally, only after an admission of error by a match official has the GAA at national level taken the decision to order a re-match. In 2016, referee John O’Brien realised he had miscalculated the scoreline in the Christy Ring Cup final and so Meath and Antrim faced off a second time. While the CCCC that same year did investigate Laois’ use of seven substitutes against Armagh in an All-Ireland SFC qualifier and recommended a replay, it was premised on an acknowledgement of a mistake.

If, as expected, Crokes are opposed to the idea of a replay, it’s difficult to ascertain the best-case scenario for the GAA. Aside from the Disputes Resolution Authority, either team could take the matter out of their hands entirely. Crokes sources indicate they would rather give up the cup than do anything else.

Speaking to Newstalk earlier this week, former Derry footballer and manager Damien Cassidy recited what a Glen official told him. “The interesting comment by that official was, ‘We appeal and then we’ll make a decision about whether we replay it or not.’”

It’s not the most outrageous idea in the world: Glen, who had been reluctant to force the GAA to act, reject Crokes’ penalty on the principle that it was they who had to initiate the review.

There are practical concerns about a replay for them just as there are for Crokes whose forward Shane Walsh is believed to have already flown to Australia for an extended holiday. Glen figures also have plans and as he plots a promotion push to Division 1 Derry manager Rory Gallagher is eager to have his Glen men back involved without any distractions.

Everyone’s between a rock and a hard place and could be for some time to come.