Kilmacud Crokes set to appeal decision to replay All-Ireland Club SFC final

Kilmacud Crokes' players celebrate after the All-Ireland SFC club final match. However, a decision has been made to replay the game. Photo by: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile

Frank Roche Email

February 01 2023 09:07 PM

There are growing indications that Kilmacud Crokes will appeal the decision to replay their All-Ireland club senior football final, even though the Dublin champions were maintaining a stony silence tonight.

The ball has been firmly thrown back into Kilmacud’s court after the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee ruled on Tuesday in favour of Glen’s objection to the result of last month’s club decider in Croke Park.

The Derry champions lost by two points but were successful in their complaint to the CCCC that their opponents exceeded the number of players permitted under Rule 2.1. Kilmacud had defended that fateful late ‘45’ with 16 men after Dara Mullin did not exit the field immediately after being replaced.

Crokes’ three-day window to lodge an appeal expires on Friday, and one media report tonight asserted that they were set to take their case to the Central Appeals Committee (CAC) and may be prepared to go all the way to the Disputes Resolution Authority if necessary.

When contacted, a club spokesperson said they had “no comment at all” and, when asked about the above report, replied: “I’m not in a position to confirm or deny that.”

The spokesperson stressed that they hadn’t engaged with the media at all, “and we’re going to continue to do that, so I think you’ll just have to wait and see.”

In the event that Kilmacud exhaust their disciplinary options and remain unsuccessful, the key question then is not merely one of finding a suitable replay date but whether it will ever take place.

There have been several suggestions, albeit unconfirmed by the club, that the Stillorgan outfit would simply refuse to play Glen a second time.

While expressing his personal belief that the replay should go ahead, former Donegal footballer Eamon McGee told RTE: "I don't think the game will be played at all.

"I don't know is the appetite there in Kilmacud … the rumours are going that they're just going to say to Glen, 'Just take the cup with you, we've won it on the field' so we'll see how it pans out."