Kilmacud Crokes officially lodge counter-appeal to Croke Park as All-Ireland final saga rumbles on

A replay between Kilmacud Crokes and Glen is still on the cards. Image: Sportsfile.

Michael Verney

January 27 2023 09:08 PM

Kilmacud Crokes have lodged their counter-appeal to the objection made by Glen in the wake of last Sunday's controversial All-Ireland club SFC final.

The Dublin and Leinster kingpins prevailed by two points, 1-11 to 1-9, but the legitimacy of the victory has been hotly-contested as the Stillorgan club had 16 players on the pitch in the closing seconds.

The Watty Graham’s club officially lodged their protest to GAA HQ on Tuesday night and as expected, Kilmacud Crokes have officially contested that appeal tonight.

Crokes had until tomorrow morning at 11.0 to counter-object but the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee received that request tonight as this saga shows no sign of a conclusion any time soon.

The next step will see the CCCC convene to decide on a course of action with next Monday believed to be the most likely day for the next chapter of this dispute to continue.

Under rule, the CCCC have three options; to disqualify Crokes and hand Glen the Andy Merrigan Cup, to fine Crokes and leave the result stand, or to order a replay.

It is understood that there is little appetite for a replay in the Kilmacud Crokes ranks with several family events and trips abroad planned and some players are already understood to be out of the country.

The situation is likely to get even more complicated, with either party entitled to appeal any decision. Use of the GAA’s final court of arbitration – the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) – is rare in recent years, but in a situation like this, shaded with so much grey area, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility.

Replays have been ordered by the GAA in the past over contested results for breaches of rule, albeit never in an All-Ireland final and not in these circumstances.

Most famously, the 1998 All-Ireland SHC semi-final between Clare and Offaly was re-fixed after the first replay was blown up several minutes early by Galway referee Jimmy Cooney.