Louth Robbed

Chalk McHugh · 15-06-2020 10:40am #1

Was watching the Sunday Game last night where they showed that infamous Leinster final between Meath and Louth and they had the Louth manager and Joe Sheridan as guests. It's a long time since the game but even though im a Dub the memories of completre anger and disbelief at one of the worst cases of isporting injustice i can remember came flooding back.

The smug Joe Sheridan, who immediately after the game blatantly lied to the whole country by saying he kicked the ball in the net while doing an interview, coming out last night and saying he's no problem saying it wasn't a goal, was the height of insincerity. Why didn't he own up like a man back on that horrible day? Instead he was seen sneering and laughing at distraught Louth players after the final whistle.

Meath didn't cover themselves in glory thereafter. Offering a replay was the absolute minimum you would expect from a team that knowingly robbed a title in such awful circumstances. But as the days went by not a word of it. Meath hiding behind GAA rules and passing the buck, lost the respect of the whole country. If they really wanted to they could have forced the GAAs hand. No replay we will pull out is all they had to say. And the GAA would have had to go ahead with it.

But the damage was done on the field with that rugby try scored by Sheridan. I doubt Louth would have won a replay anyway. Their dreams were robbed with that bogus goal and it was going to be very hard to pick themselves up again.

The one good thing to come out of this was the downfall of Meath thereafter. It was as if Karma came back at them and finished them off. They have never been the same since and seeing sneaky Sheridan on last night with his faux sympathy for Louth was stomach churning. Sheridan will always be known for that incident and Sludden fell for it in the worst act of irresponsible refereeing we've ever seen. What a disgusting day it was.

WesternZulu · 15-06-2020 10:43am

Great game and Louth were robed. I think the whole country felt for them seeing at we all knew that more than likely it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for them to win at provincial level.

Seems like a lifetime ago now seeing how much Dublin have dominated since then.

As a Mayo man I also have enjoyed Meath's downfall since!

The_Kew_Tour · 15-06-2020 10:50am

It's sad that the first thing to come to mind was actually the attack on the ref by half dozen or so Louth fans after the game.

If any game proved that certain linesmen and refs really were no where near up to the job it was this game.

I think it was same day as world cup final and I remember going out in dublin for the match that evebing with friends and only thing we talked about was that goal.

ja_ · 15-06-2020 10:13pm

what always annoyed me most was what the ref said after, if he didn't allow the goal he was going to give a penalty

Gooey Looey · 15-06-2020 10:17pm

I remember it, the first try ever scored in Croke park!

Chalk McHugh · 15-06-2020 10:39pm

ja_ wrote: »

what always annoyed me most was what the ref said after, if he didn't allow the goal he was going to give a penalty

Peter Fitzpatrick said last night when he met Sludden after the match Sludden said if he didn't allow the goal he was going going to award a penalty anyway as if he was trying to lessen the damage and hurt caused to Louth. I've looked at it loads of times and it was never a penalty. Another cop out by Sludden. Fitzpatrick said it was wrong to have an Ulster referee which i though twas nonsense. The only thing that was wrong was having an incompetent referee.

LuasSimon · 15-06-2020 10:47pm

Sludden acted like a real school teacher after the game handing out cards to Louth players remonstrating with him after he himself had made one of the greatest mistakes in GAA history .

Sludden got off lightly enough , there’s a lot of supporters out there that would have stretched him if they had got near him .

Chalk McHugh · 15-06-2020 10:51pm

LuasSimon wrote: »

Sludden acted like a real school teacher after the game handing out cards to Louth players remonstrating with him after he himself had made one of the greatest mistakes in GAA history .

Sludden got off lightly enough , there’s a lot of supporters out there that would have stretched him if they had got near him .

Sludden tried to give one of the attacking fans a red card too. To be fair he must have thought it was a player or sub but his head was gone at that stage. I never saw fans as angry as that day. Dont think i ever will. The referee was lucky he wasn't given a few proper clatters. It was very dangerous situation.

15-06-2020 11:37pm

Sludden really rubbed salt into the louth supporters wounds by flashing does red cards that day he did not seem to think anything wrong.

John Hutton · 15-06-2020 11:41pm

Couldn't put myself through that again by watching that.

Watching the telly later I saw a few well known Drogheda Utd "fans" used to causing trouble at the soccer matches in the thick of the trouble, probably their first time at a GAA game! (Not a dig at the Drogs, I'm one myself)

Hammer Archer · 16-06-2020 9:32am

Funny how no one remembers that Sludden basically rode Meath for 73 minutes of that game. Louth were given soft free after soft free in the last 10 minutes to put the game beyond doubt yet missed them all.

I do have sympathy for the Louth players but I have none for Louth fans as a whole after their display after the game. You had Meath fans (including women and children) getting dogs abuse and threats and Mark Ward and Sean Boylan getting assaulted by their fans.
I have zero doubt that had the roles been reversed, Meath would have been laughed at and told to suck it up.

The whole spiel about "how far Meath have fallen" since then is a bit silly too. That was our first Leinster final appearance in 9 years. We've appeared in 4 since then (with no success obviously). 2007 and 2009 were moderately successful yet we were knocked out in the Leinster quarter finals both times. In 2008, we famously lost to Wexford before being humiliated by Limerick in the qualifiers.

rpurfield · 16-06-2020 9:50am

I always find it mad that some Dubs are in the process of watching probably the greatest team ever to grace the GAA (well would be only for the shutdown) but still manage to foam at the mouth about the Leinster final in 2010 :rolleyes:

Chalk McHugh · 16-06-2020 9:57am

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Funny how no one remembers that Sludden basically rode Meath for 73 minutes of that game. Louth were given soft free after soft free in the last 10 minutes to put the game beyond doubt yet missed them all.

I do have sympathy for the Louth players but I have none for Louth fans as a whole after their display after the game. You had Meath fans (including women and children) getting dogs abuse and threats and Mark Ward and Sean Boylan getting assaulted by their fans.
I have zero doubt that had the roles been reversed, Meath would have been laughed at and told to suck it up.

The whole spiel about "how far Meath have fallen" since then is a bit silly too. That was our first Leinster final appearance in 9 years. We've appeared in 4 since then (with no success obviously). 2007 and 2009 were moderately successful yet we were knocked out in the Leinster quarter finals both times. In 2008, we famously lost to Wexford before being humiliated by Limerick in the qualifiers.

Ok. Meath were falling anyway. But there's no doubt Meath lost any bit of goodwill they ever had with the other 31 counties after that. They didn't come out of it looking well. I dont know how any of the players ever look back on that Leinster medal with any fondness. I doubt they do.

As for Meath getting to 4 Leinster finals in last 10 years i doubt losing to Dublin by 16 points in each of their last two finals is making any strides to bridging the gap. A comulative 32 point beating of our old neighbours must have been hard to stomach. In last years final the big question coming up to half time was whether Meath would actually go in at the break with any score on the board at all. It was touch and go but ye managed a score eventually so hats off for that. Maybe next time ye can make some sort of a game of it and we'll get a bit of value out of a 30e ticket but the days when the sight of a Meath jersey got the juices flowing for us are long gone.

elefant · 16-06-2020 9:59am

I wouldn't blame Joe Sheridan for not admitting the ball was thrown over the line. Those things happen so quickly that you can easily not be certain how it played out.

Chalk McHugh · 16-06-2020 10:02am

rpurfield wrote: »

I always find it mad that some Dubs are in the process of watching probably the greatest team ever to grace the GAA (well would be only for the shutdown) but still manage to foam at the mouth about the Leinster final in 2010 :rolleyes:

It was a topic of discussion on The Sunday Game couple nights ago so the memories came flooding back. I think any GAA person would feel pretty much the same about what happened to Louth that day. We're all part of the GAA family so whether you are from Dublin, Fermanagh, Clare or Sligo any GAA fan that knows how much a Provincial title means to a county like Louth would have been disgusted and saddened by that days events.

Still waters · 16-06-2020 10:08am

Had the umpire as much responsibility as sludden, sludden approached him and the umpire seemed to give the goal, sludden was behind the play also

is_that_so · 16-06-2020 10:12am

I was there. Defied any logic and what happened after was equally as bad. Still reckon if they'd just kept the ball for two more minutes...

elefant · 16-06-2020 10:46am

Watching it back, the most disappointed of all must have been the Louth player who made the great full-stretch block to stop the initial shot going in. What a moment in Louth GAA that would have been, forgotten.

Hammer Archer · 16-06-2020 11:00am

Chalk McHugh wrote: »

Ok. Meath were falling anyway. But there's no doubt Meath lost any bit of goodwill they ever had with the other 31 counties after that. They didn't come out of it looking well. I dont know how any of the players ever look back on that Leinster medal with any fondness. I doubt they do.

As for Meath getting to 4 Leinster finals in last 10 years i doubt losing to Dublin by 16 points in each of their last two finals is making any strides to bridging the gap. A comulative 32 point beating of our old neighbours must have been hard to stomach. In last years final the big question coming up to half time was whether Meath would actually go in at the break with any score on the board at all. It was touch and go but ye managed a score eventually so hats off for that. Maybe next time ye can make some sort of a game of it and we'll get a bit of value out of a 30e ticket but the days when the sight of a Meath jersey got the juices flowing for us are long gone.

Ha! Goodwill???? Towards Meath? You must be joking! There was none of that before or after the 2010 Leinster Final.

Louth players themselves came out and said they wouldn't have offered a replay had the roles been reversed.
I have a question for you though: In your view, at what point does a terrible refereeing decision require a replay? On the same weekend, as far as I can remember, Wexford scored a late penalty against Galway to win by a point and knock them out. It was never a penalty (as replays confirmed). Yet there were no calls for a replay. Meath have also been on the receiving end of some horrific refereeing decisions over the years (before and after 2010) yet we've never had people try to demand a replay. In the 2009 game against Dublin, the referee admitted that he failed to play enough injury time in the game and we lost by 2 points. Were you demanding that the game replayed then? Of course you weren't.
Meath benefited from the poor decision which caused uproar. You even saw it after the 2016 Christy Ring final debacle which was not the fault of Meath yet people still came out with "typical Meath cheats" and the like. Some people hate Meath.

Still waters wrote: »

Had the umpire as much responsibility as sludden, sludden approached him and the umpire seemed to give the goal, sludden was behind the play also

To be fair to the umpires, they saw what happened and didn't wave the green flag. That's their signal that it shouldn't have been a goal. But when the referee tells you to do something (i.e. wave the green flag in this case), you have to do it as an umpire. I wouldn't apportion any blame to the umpires in that case.

Chalk McHugh · 16-06-2020 11:04am

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Ha! Goodwill???? Towards Meath? You must be joking! There was none of that before or after the 2010 Leinster Final.

Louth players themselves came out and said they wouldn't have offered a replay had the roles been reversed.
I have a question for you though: In your view, at what point does a terrible refereeing decision require a replay? On the same weekend, as far as I can remember, Wexford scored a late penalty against Galway to win by a point and knock them out. It was never a penalty (as replays confirmed). Yet there were no calls for a replay. Meath have also been on the receiving end of some horrific refereeing decisions over the years (before and after 2010) yet we've never had people try to demand a replay. In the 2009 game against Dublin, the referee admitted that he failed to play enough injury time in the game and we lost by 2 points. Were you demanding that the game replayed then? Of course you weren't.
Meath benefited from the poor decision which caused uproar. You even saw it after the 2016 Christy Ring final debacle which was not the fault of Meath yet people still came out with "typical Meath cheats" and the like. Some people hate Meath.

To be fair to the umpires, they saw what happened and didn't wave the green flag. That's their signal that it shouldn't have been a goal. But when the referee tells you to do something (i.e. wave the green flag in this case), you have to do it as an umpire. I wouldn't apportion any blame to the umpires in that case.

I was shouting for Meath v Cork in 87, 88, 90 and 99. I always respected Boylan's Meath teams. Hard but fair. Hand on heart thats the truth. And i'd imagine a lot of people did too. But that fiasco i lost a lot of that respect for Meath.

As for the game the referee didn't play sufficiant minutes of extra time i honestly cannot recall that but if it happened to Dublin you'd be disappointed but it's hardly in the same bracket as what happened to Louth.

gormdubhgorm · 16-06-2020 11:18am

WesternZulu wrote: »

Great game and Louth were robed. I think the whole country felt for them seeing at we all knew that more than likely it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for them to win at provincial level.

Seems like a lifetime ago now seeing how much Dublin have dominated since then.

As a Mayo man I also have enjoyed Meath's downfall since!

The once in a lifetime bit was the real sickening part.
Had to stop myself throwing something at the telly at the time.
I kind of assumed it would be a replay and the decent thing would be done. Like when Clare and Offaly replayed the hurling match following Jimmy Cooney's error. Thought that was enough of a precedence?

I got the feeling at the time that Louth did not get a replay because the attitude was it was only Louth. And it would blow over.

Louth had a few handy players at the time as well, Keenan, Lennon. and Clarke top of my head.

If Jim Gavin was in the same situation (for example) I bet he would have offered a replay to Louth

The_Kew_Tour · 16-06-2020 11:57am

Chalk McHugh wrote: »

I was shouting for Meath v Cork in 87, 88, 90 and 99. I always respected Boylan's Meath teams. Hard but fair.

I’m not sure ringing the opposition hotel the night before AI and telling one of the players a relative is dead is of fairness.:pac:

Strumms · 16-06-2020 12:11pm

rpurfield wrote: »

I always find it mad that some Dubs are in the process of watching probably the greatest team ever to grace the GAA (well would be only for the shutdown) but still manage to foam at the mouth about the Leinster final in 2010 :rolleyes:

Welcome to boards.ie.. where people regardless of who they support, the success that their team has enjoyed can still freely engage in conversation about any topic from within the sport. This is the GAA forum and as such, anybody, from whatever county, whatever country can discuss and are... a vast array of subjects, this being just one. No foaming at the mouth, the only individual who seems to be doing that is yourself. Foaming at the mouth because people are discussing an topic of interest to GAA supporters, on a GAA forum :eek:

gormdubhgorm · 16-06-2020 8:07pm

rpurfield wrote: »

I always find it mad that some Dubs are in the process of watching probably the greatest team ever to grace the GAA (well would be only for the shutdown) but still manage to foam at the mouth about the Leinster final in 2010 :rolleyes:

Sure I only got over the 2010 semi-final defeat to Meath this year! Where Dublin conceded five goals. I was giving out for the past decade saying that there were reasons to disallow all the goals, steps, fouls on players etc.
But I have made my peace with it and moved on.

I am only back eating Tayto now this year after a long boycott!

As for the issue over Louth's robbery your main gripe about it seems to be that it is a Dub who started this thread. And Dubs are commenting on it.

Does it mean that as a supporter of the greatest GAA team on the planet, it should disqualify them from talking about other counties? If the poster was from a so called 'weaker county' would you feel more at ease?

Plus it is the 10 year anniversary of the most controversial Leinster final in living memory. Also, there is feck all else to talk about GAA wise - other than looking back at the moment

I am curious as to what is your view is on the 2010 leinster final as a non-Dub?
Were Louth blatantly robbed?
Or was Joe Sheridan correct in chancing his arm (up to the ref to spot/call it), and the GAA was correct not to have a replay?

hurler32 · 16-06-2020 9:53pm

Watched that game in a pub close to the main street in St Helier.Jersey Channel islands. good crowd all practically cheering Louth , a couple of meath supporters there who overdid the celebrating got a few slaps after the match . Jersey police were called and all and everyone was ejected from the bar . The same pub didnt show these irish matchs for a long time after. Martin Sluddens incompetence had ramifications all over the globe!!

ShyMets · 17-06-2020 9:42am

Did Sludden ever ref an intercounty match after that.

My recollection is no. But I could be wrong

cms88 · 17-06-2020 10:13am

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Funny how no one remembers that Sludden basically rode Meath for 73 minutes of that game. Louth were given soft free after soft free in the last 10 minutes to put the game beyond doubt yet missed them all.

I do have sympathy for the Louth players but I have none for Louth fans as a whole after their display after the game. You had Meath fans (including women and children) getting dogs abuse and threats and Mark Ward and Sean Boylan getting assaulted by their fans.
I have zero doubt that had the roles been reversed, Meath would have been laughed at and told to suck it up.

The whole spiel about "how far Meath have fallen" since then is a bit silly too. That was our first Leinster final appearance in 9 years. We've appeared in 4 since then (with no success obviously). 2007 and 2009 were moderately successful yet we were knocked out in the Leinster quarter finals both times. In 2008, we famously lost to Wexford before being humiliated by Limerick in the qualifiers.

It's often over looked that Louth kicked that game away and should have been out of sight at that stage.

They played again the following year and Meath hammered them so that should have put an end to it.

It also annoyed me how for about 2/3 years after Fitzpatrick would still bring it up any time a call when againest Louth in games.

is_that_so · 17-06-2020 10:16am

cms88 wrote: »

It's often over looked that Louth kicked that game away and should have been out of sight at that stage.

They played again the following year and Meath hammered them so that should have put an end to it.

It also annoyed me how for about 2/3 years after Fitzpatrick would still bring it up any time a call when against Louth in games.

Long live the slight in the memory! It was frustrating to see all the wasted efforts.

cms88 · 17-06-2020 10:17am

ShyMets wrote: »

Did Sludden ever ref an intercounty match after that.

My recollection is no. But I could be wrong

Afaik he did maybe a year or so after

rpurfield · 17-06-2020 11:20am

Strumms wrote: »

Welcome to boards.ie.. where people regardless of who they support, the success that their team has enjoyed can still freely engage in conversation about any topic from within the sport. This is the GAA forum and as such, anybody, from whatever county, whatever country can discuss and are... a vast array of subjects, this being just one. No foaming at the mouth, the only individual who seems to be doing that is yourself. Foaming at the mouth because people are discussing an topic of interest to GAA supporters, on a GAA forum :eek:

Are you that condensing in real life? I'd say you're great craic in a pub all the same. No issue with the topic being discussed but the tone of the OP was so bitter my screen nearly melted.

rpurfield · 17-06-2020 11:28am

gormdubhgorm wrote: »

Sure I only got over the 2010 semi-final defeat to Meath this year! Where Dublin conceded five goals. I was giving out for the past decade saying that there were reasons to disallow all the goals, steps, fouls on players etc.
But I have made my peace with it and moved on. I am only back eating Tayto now this year after a long boycott!

As for the issue over Louth's robbery your main gripe about it seems to be that it is a Dub who started this thread. And Dubs are commenting on it.

Does it mean that as a supporter of the greatest GAA team on the planet, it should disqualify them from talking about other counties? If the poster was from a so called 'weaker county' would you feel more at ease?

Plus it is the 10 year anniversary of the most controversial Leinster final in living memory. Also, there is feck all else to talk about GAA wise - other than looking back at the moment

I am curious as to what is your view is on the 2010 leinster final as a non-Dub?
Were Louth blatantly robbed?
Or was Joe Sheridan correct in chancing his arm (up to the ref to spot/call it), and the GAA was correct not to have a replay?

The replay should've been offered and they would've been beaten out the gate the next day like they were the next year. At the same time it shouldn't have been put on the players to do it.

There was a county board meeting a day or two after it where it was decided to pass the buck onto the players. I think that's some of the worst of it no one actually grabbed it and said lets deal with it. But that would've been pretty par for the course with the county board executive at the time. I honestly believe if anyone at a board level, GAA or County Board, made the call the players would've went with it.

Glad you're back on the Tayto,sure we robbed them off ye at some stage too

Chalk McHugh · 17-06-2020 1:26pm

Just listening to Wooly Parkinsons GAA Hour from last Monday and yes you've guessed it one of their topics of discussion was that Leinster final. Wooly actually asked Sludden to come on the show but he declined the offer. Wooly saying there was no need to have Fitzpatrick and Sheridan on the Sunday Game as only Sluddden can answer some questions that remain to this day. A Laois, Derry and Mayo man on the show and they slated Meath for not having the decency to offer up a replay. Looks like there's more than myself interested in it still. The most infamous day in GAA history as far as i can remember.

dundalkfc10 · 17-06-2020 2:43pm

John Hutton wrote: »

Couldn't put myself through that again by watching that.

Watching the telly later I saw a few well known Drogheda Utd "fans" used to causing trouble at the soccer matches in the thick of the trouble, probably their first time at a GAA game! (Not a dig at the Drogs, I'm one myself)

What absolute ****ing nonsense. At least 3 of the people involved (were charged by the Gardai) were from the Dundalk area and are well known in their GAA clubs

Hammer Archer · 17-06-2020 2:46pm

Chalk McHugh wrote: »

I was shouting for Meath v Cork in 87, 88, 90 and 99. I always respected Boylan's Meath teams. Hard but fair. Hand on heart thats the truth. And i'd imagine a lot of people did too. But that fiasco i lost a lot of that respect for Meath.

As for the game the referee didn't play sufficiant minutes of extra time i honestly cannot recall that but if it happened to Dublin you'd be disappointed but it's hardly in the same bracket as what happened to Louth.

Good for you. You'd be in the minority though.
It was the 2009 Leinster quarter final and Mark Davoren got his cruciate ligament injury in the second half. He was down for 6 or 7 minutes yet the referee only played 3 minutes injury time at the end of the game (after signalling only 2). There was at least an extra 5 minutes left which was plenty of time to get the 2 points required to draw level (and we actually scored a point as the referee blew for full time).

My question was, where do you think the line should be? Which poor refereeing decisions that affect the game deserve a replay and which don't? Again, Galway were knocked out that same weekend thanks to a penalty that should not have been awarded. Should that game have been replayed?

I know I probably would have been for offering a replay had I not witnessed the scenes that followed the game. I'm sure the Meath players were of the same opinion.

LuasSimon · 17-06-2020 3:32pm

For a county that has so little celebrations in GAA in recent years it would have been a major GAA success story to have Louth as Leinster champions and raise the profile in the wee county. Dundalk and Drogheda are two of the biggest town populations in the country outside of citys and with those numbers Louth should be doing better.
From what i know of it Drogheda has very little GAA with 1 good team Newtown blues whilst Dundalk has many teams but none up to much, lot of Louth lads i knew would talk GAA but they were really soccer men , might be different up along the border and on the peninsula

Chalk McHugh · 17-06-2020 4:14pm

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Good for you. You'd be in the minority though.
It was the 2009 Leinster quarter final and Mark Davoren got his cruciate ligament injury in the second half. He was down for 6 or 7 minutes yet the referee only played 3 minutes injury time at the end of the game (after signalling only 2). There was at least an extra 5 minutes left which was plenty of time to get the 2 points required to draw level (and we actually scored a point as the referee blew for full time).

My question was, where do you think the line should be? Which poor refereeing decisions that affect the game deserve a replay and which don't? Again, Galway were knocked out that same weekend thanks to a penalty that should not have been awarded. Should that game have been replayed?

I know I probably would have been for offering a replay had I not witnessed the scenes that followed the game. I'm sure the Meath players were of the same opinion.

I definately think matches that were won or lost by incorrectly awarding a score or a wide and where there is 100% evidence of this by being on tv should be considered for a replay.

The one game prior to the Louth v Meath game i can remember was when Kerry were playing Tipperary in a Munster final or semi final down in Killarney and coming up to half time Kerry were bizarrely awarded a goal after the ball blatantly went into the net through a hole in the side netting. It was on tv so everybody watching could see how obvious the mistake was. Tipperary should have refused to come out for the second half unless the goal was reversed. If it wasn't they should have packed up and gone home and demanded a replay.

I think Limerick minor hurlers were done out of a match few years back due to a wrong Hawkeye call. They lost by one point. That game should have been replayed. Maybe it was as i can't remember for sure.

Apart from those three examples i dont recall feeling any match should have been replayed. Basically when teams are badly done out of some big score or match defining score which is proven to be wrong.

But Meath v Louth was by far the worst case and why Meath never manned up and offered the replay i'll never know.

Old_-_School · 17-06-2020 4:33pm

Despite lots of accusations to the contrary, Sheridan didn't cheat - he threw the ball up to kick it but didn't connect.
Yes the goal was illegal (either it was carried over the line or thrown) but cheating implies an element of intent.
Sheridan did great to react first and gather the ball after the two Louth players jumped for the same ball.
The Louth midfielder would have been the real hero with his incredible block down when there was an empty net.
Meath definitely had great luck in that passage - the kick in was an attempt at a point, a Meath player was in the square, two Louth players jump for the same ball and the illegal goal.

conor05 · 17-06-2020 11:35pm

LuasSimon wrote: »

For a county that has so little celebrations in GAA in recent years it would have been a major GAA success story to have Louth as Leinster champions and raise the profile in the wee county. Dundalk and Drogheda are two of the biggest town populations in the country outside of citys and with those numbers Louth should be doing better.
From what i know of it Drogheda has very little GAA with 1 good team Newtown blues whilst Dundalk has many teams but none up to much, lot of Louth lads i knew would talk GAA but they were really soccer men , might be different up along the border and on the peninsula

Whatever about the club scene, the county scene is slowly dying a death in Louth.

That Leinster final loss coincided with the rise of Dundalk F.C and the general feeling is a generation of youth has been lost to soccer. Louth need it’s urban areas to be stronger in Gaelic and the interest just isn’t there.

Drogheda again a very strong soccer town.

More than any other county Louth needed that 2010 Leinster title, really and truly set them back.

Without being overly negative, I feel they will be a weak gaa counry for a long time to come.

Strumms · 18-06-2020 1:05am

If a replay is granted, you’d be changing the whole spectrum and dynamics of a football game.

Say the next All Ireland Semi final, Dublin vs Cork. It’s 1-11 1-11 as the clock strikes 71 minutes of the 72 due to be played... Dublin are given a legitimate free near the sideline 49 meters from the opposition goal, ball is played in and flicked into the net but the umpires maintain a square ball. Replay shows the goal should have stood... Cork go up the other end, a point is scored from a dubious free, whistle goes, Cork are AI Champions.

Replay shows the Dublin goal should have stood and the Cork point should not have. Either way, Cork are presented with the trophy, celebrations across the city, county and further afield...

Meanwhile the Dublin management are filling in forms galore looking for a replay and under regulations the following afternoon, celebrations end with hangovers kicking in and also the truth, Cork need to earn their victory again, it’s a replay..

Sound fair ? No ? Because it ain’t.

What happens ON the pitch needs to stand. Where technology CAN be used to the betterment of GAA, the fairness in games... go for it, but it HAS to be done without changing the dynamic of games and their cannot be the rewriting of results, the cancellation of outcomes regardless.

PTH2009 · 18-06-2020 1:42am

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_All-Ireland_Senior_Football_Championship

2010 was some crazy year in the championship

Cork vs Down All Ireland Final
Dublin in the qualifiers
Mayo and Donegal out in round 1
Kerry beaten well in the AI QFs

John Hutton · 18-06-2020 9:28am

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

What absolute ****ing nonsense. At least 3 of the people involved (were charged by the Gardai) were from the Dundalk area and are well known in their GAA clubs

I recognised the people I saw, why would I lie about something like that about "fans" of my own team (Drogs) and county?

rpurfield · 18-06-2020 10:17am

John Hutton wrote: »

I recognised the people I saw, why would I lie about something like that about "fans" of my own team (Drogs) and county?

My recollection of it was those charged were from Dundalk as well, but then more than two or three were on the pitch. Is this another case of Dundalk getting everything?

flasher0030 · 18-06-2020 10:42am

cms88 wrote: »

It's often over looked that Louth kicked that game away and should have been out of sight at that stage.

They played again the following year and Meath hammered them so that should have put an end to it.

It also annoyed me how for about 2/3 years after Fitzpatrick would still bring it up any time a call when againest Louth in games.

How is that relevant? Every weekend of GAA sporting action, there are matches where teams are wasteful, missing easy chances; giving the opponents a chance to beat them. And in many cases the games will ebb and flow and in the end there will be a winner or loser (or draw as the case may be). That's all part and parcel of the game - all within the parameters of a GAA game. What happened in the Meath/Louth game is nothing to do with that - there was an injustice at the end that robbed the game away from Louth.
You suggest that they should ignore that because Meath beat them approx. 12 months later??? What has that to do with the injustice served upon them in 2010? There is no connection.
It's easy to say from the armchair that a team should just get over it and move on. But when you're part of a panel that has put in months of commitment, making sacrifices in the remote chance (in Louths case) of winning a Leinster title, and then for that to happen, I'd love to see your reaction.

Hammer Archer · 18-06-2020 11:44am

Chalk McHugh wrote: »

I definately think matches that were won or lost by incorrectly awarding a score or a wide and where there is 100% evidence of this by being on tv should be considered for a replay.

The one game prior to the Louth v Meath game i can remember was when Kerry were playing Tipperary in a Munster final or semi final down in Killarney and coming up to half time Kerry were bizarrely awarded a goal after the ball blatantly went into the net through a hole in the side netting. It was on tv so everybody watching could see how obvious the mistake was. Tipperary should have refused to come out for the second half unless the goal was reversed. If it wasn't they should have packed up and gone home and demanded a replay.

I think Limerick minor hurlers were done out of a match few years back due to a wrong Hawkeye call. They lost by one point. That game should have been replayed. Maybe it was as i can't remember for sure.

Apart from those three examples i dont recall feeling any match should have been replayed. Basically when teams are badly done out of some big score or match defining score which is proven to be wrong.

But Meath v Louth was by far the worst case and why Meath never manned up and offered the replay i'll never know.

Then you're opening floodgates. Every close game would be pored over and any minor indiscretion in the run up to scores would be pulled out as reasons for replays. Again, Meath have been on the receiving end of some horrific calls over the years that definitely affected the outcome of games, but we never called for replays (bar a handful of supporters in the 2009 game).

The ball ended up in the net so it wasn't like the Kerry - Tipperary game you mentioned or the Laois - Carlow game in 1995 where the winning point clearly went wide (that one was replayed). The only other ones I remember was the 2016 Christy Ring Final where the referee had the score wrong and the 1998 Clare - Offaly game where not enough time was played. The minor game was a draw and Galway won after extra time. However, the Limerick "point" happened after only a couple of minutes and, if I remember correctly, Limerick were awarded an exceptionally easy free in the last minute of normal time to draw the game.

You say you'll never know how Meath never offered a replay? If Dublin won a title against, say, Kerry in similar circumstances and Kerry fans proceeded to assault your players on the field, assault Jim Gavin in the stands and hurl abuse and spit at every man, woman and child wearing a Dublin jersey in the aftermath of the game, would you feel very accommodating towards a replay? And, as I already mentioned, Louth players themselves admitted that they wouldn't have offered a replay had the roles been reversed. And you can guarantee that the reaction from so-called neutrals would have been completely different in that case.

flasher0030 wrote: »

How is that relevant? Every weekend of GAA sporting action, there are matches where teams are wasteful, missing easy chances; giving the opponents a chance to beat them. And in many cases the games will ebb and flow and in the end there will be a winner or loser (or draw as the case may be). That's all part and parcel of the game - all within the parameters of a GAA game. What happened in the Meath/Louth game is nothing to do with that - there was an injustice at the end that robbed the game away from Louth.
You suggest that they should ignore that because Meath beat them approx. 12 months later??? What has that to do with the injustice served upon them in 2010? There is no connection.
It's easy to say from the armchair that a team should just get over it and move on. But when you're part of a panel that has put in months of commitment, making sacrifices in the remote chance (in Louths case) of winning a Leinster title, and then for that to happen, I'd love to see your reaction.

It's relevant because, again, Sludden rode Meath for 73 minutes of that game. Louth were given soft free after soft free after their goal to put the game to bed. And they missed every one of them. Even Louth's goal came from a terrible refereeing decision in the lead up, though that decision came when Meath were in possession at the other end of the field which didn't excuse the terrible Meath defending.

TrueGael · 18-06-2020 4:36pm

An AIG fan talking about sporting injustices, the bloody nerve..........

What would he say if his beloved financially doped outfit had to return to amateur status, give up extortionate funding and perpetual home advantages (and refs) and actually compete on a level playing field for once...............

Hammer Archer · 18-06-2020 4:40pm

TrueGael wrote: »

An AIG fan talking about sporting injustices, the bloody nerve..........

What would he say if his beloved financially doped outfit had to return to amateur status, give up extortionate funding and perpetual home advantages (and refs) and actually compete on a level playing field for once...............

Don't start!

Chalk McHugh · 18-06-2020 5:13pm

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Then you're opening floodgates. Every close game would be pored over and any minor indiscretion in the run up to scores would be pulled out as reasons for replays. Again, Meath have been on the receiving end of some horrific calls over the years that definitely affected the outcome of games, but we never called for replays (bar a handful of supporters in the 2009 game).

The ball ended up in the net so it wasn't like the Kerry - Tipperary game you mentioned or the Laois - Carlow game in 1995 where the winning point clearly went wide (that one was replayed). The only other ones I remember was the 2016 Christy Ring Final where the referee had the score wrong and the 1998 Clare - Offaly game where not enough time was played. The minor game was a draw and Galway won after extra time. However, the Limerick "point" happened after only a couple of minutes and, if I remember correctly, Limerick were awarded an exceptionally easy free in the last minute of normal time to draw the game.

You say you'll never know how Meath never offered a replay? If Dublin won a title against, say, Kerry in similar circumstances and Kerry fans proceeded to assault your players on the field, assault Jim Gavin in the stands and hurl abuse and spit at every man, woman and child wearing a Dublin jersey in the aftermath of the game, would you feel very accommodating towards a replay? And, as I already mentioned, Louth players themselves admitted that they wouldn't have offered a replay had the roles been reversed. And you can guarantee that the reaction from so-called neutrals would have been completely different in that case.

It's relevant because, again, Sludden rode Meath for 73 minutes of that game. Louth were given soft free after soft free after their goal to put the game to bed. And they missed every one of them. Even Louth's goal came from a terrible refereeing decision in the lead up, though that decision came when Meath were in possession at the other end of the field which didn't excuse the terrible Meath defending.

We'll have to agree to disagree. But 10 years later this game still gets people quite emotive and the vast majority of the country will always feel Louth were dealt possibly the worst GAA injustice of our times. Pehaps on the 20th anniversary we'll muse over that sad day once again because it will never be forgotten.

This is it · 18-06-2020 6:02pm

These things happen in sport, all sports. The ref will miss a bad tackle, give a free or peno when there was none, or not give them. I felt for Louth, even as a Meath supporter.

I wouldn't have agreed with it but if the main men in the GAA awarded a replay then so be it, but i definitely don't think the county board or players should need to. No more than France should've offered Ireland a replay in the football, or *insert any number of sporting injustices*.

Louth Robbed

Comments