Louth v Meath replay?

[Liamos]

Should Louth be granted a replay against Meath? In fact should Louth not just be awarded the match? After all, Meath really should have lost the match by 1 point.

 

[Sunny]

Louth should be kicked out of the Championship because of the behaviour of their supporters.

 

[Liamos]

Louth brought 25,000 fans with then to Croke Park. So because 5/6 idiots attack the referee the team should be kicked out?

 

[Sunny]

Louth brought 25,000 fans with then to Croke Park. So because 5/6 idiots attack the referee the team should be kicked out?

Yep. I don't care what mistake he made, nobody deserves to be assaulted. The Steward didn't derserve a bottle thrown from the top tier of the Stand to hit in the head.

GAA is turning into a sport of scumbags with on field and off field violence at every level including under-age. I went to an under 12 game a few months ago where my nephew was playing and the ref was pushed around at half time by parents. UNDER 12!

I am getting sick of the sports I love being dragged down my mindless idiots. I feel really sorry for the Louth players but what happened on Sunday was a disgrace. And I don't mean the refereeing mistake.

 

[Mpsox]

Louth should be kicked out of the Championship because of the behaviour of their supporters.

Why should Louth GAA be held responsible for the actions of people who may not be members of the GAA or bought their tickets from the Louth County Board or via their club? Why should Louth be punished for the abject failure of the Croke Park authorities to control the situation. if anything, Louth deserve credit for the way their manager and a couple of players tried to protect the ref when they saw what was happening

If you followed this train of thought, then would you throw Tipp out of the championship for homophobic abuse of Donal Og Cusack by a couple of idiots on the terraces or Kilkenny for racist abuse by one person of Sean Og O'hailpin in Nowlan Park last year?. If we threw teams out of championships because of the behaviour of a small number of idiots, then there wouldn't be much of a championship left.

As for a replay, no, Louth should not get a replay. I have a lot of sympathy for them and if it happened my teams, I'd be up in arms over it. Trouble is, where do you draw the line?. If Waterford had lost by a point on Sunday, should they have got a replay over that dubious point that Cork got in the first half, if Cork had lost, should they have got a replay over the dodgy free Waterford got at the end. The list goes on and on and on and you can look at any match where there was less then a score in it and find a "reason" for a replay.

 

[Ceist Beag]

Should Louth be granted a replay against Meath? In fact should Louth not just be awarded the match? After all, Meath really should have lost the match by 1 point.

No to both. Referees often make mistakes, why should this be any different? Should Waterford be awarded the Munster hurling title as a Cork point was actually wide? Or what about any game where the ball has been shown to cross the line in soccer or a player was offside? This is no different albeit that the mistake was much more blatant than normal.
That said the GAA should get their act together about the selection of umpires. They should be trained as referees in the same way linesmen are and they should not be appointed by the referee (who tends to choose his mates!).

 

[The_Banker]

Louth, as far as I am concerned should be put out of the championship. In any other sport in the world in which the teams fans attacked an official (no matter how few launched the attack) the team would be thrown out of the competition and even when they are let back they would have to play games behind closed doors.

But this is ireland and this is the GAA so nothing will be done.

The Louth fans continually boo'd and jeered any Meath free kicks and Sean Boylan (ex Meath manager) was attacked after the game as well by Louth fans.

All the media attention appears to be following the story of the replay. They should be following the thuggish element that has seeped in the GAA and been left to grow uncontrolled for many years. They are now reaping what they sowed in regard to pitch invasions that they have only paid lip service to stopping, poor stewarding and putting gate receipts above all else.

Assualts on referees happens in the GAA every weekend but in small games not seen on TV. Now that it has been emblazoned on our TV screens for all to see it I hope something is done. But I doubt it.

 

[Shawady]

So because 5/6 idiots attack the referee the team should be kicked out?

I was speaking to one of my colleagues this morning. She was at the game and said there were a large number of Louth fans throwing things down from the stand that was not shown on TV. She said they were full of drink and fairly aggresive.

 

[Sunny]

Why should Louth GAA be held responsible for the actions of people who may not be members of the GAA or bought their tickets from the Louth County Board or via their club? Why should Louth be punished for the abject failure of the Croke Park authorities to control the situation. if anything, Louth deserve credit for the way their manager and a couple of players tried to protect the ref when they saw what was happening

If you followed this train of thought, then would you throw Tipp out of the championship for homophobic abuse of Donal Og Cusack by a couple of idiots on the terraces or Kilkenny for racist abuse by one person of Sean Og O'hailpin in Nowlan Park last year?. If we threw teams out of championships because of the behaviour of a small number of idiots, then there wouldn't be much of a championship left.

Because this is not the first time this has happened. Club sides have been kicked out of championships for assaults on referees by their supporters. Why should County teams be any different?

 

[RMCF]

Louth brought 25,000 fans with then to Croke Park. So because 5/6 idiots attack the referee the team should be kicked out?

Yes, 100%.

How else do you stop idiots running on the pitch? So either their own fans go and grab them, or they get their team fined or thrown out of the competition.

When that happens, you might get 2 idiots running on, then fine them again, and keep doing it until no-one runs on !! Its simple. They have managed to get it sorted in football, so there is no reason for it to happen in GAA.

And don't forget these idiots didn't just run on to the pitch, they tried to assault the ref. There is no place ever in any sport for that.

 

[VOR]

In an ideal world Meath would agree to the replay and the GAA would reject it based on the actions of the fans.
IMO Louth are lucky to be still in the championship. The GAA cannot give in to these thugs and allow a replay. What sort of signal does that send to every other idiot out there?
And the GAA need to start spending money on training stewards to do their job. They were utterly useless on Sunday. That's not the fault of the stewards. It is the fault of the GAA.

 

[micmclo]

Clubs have been thrown out of championships for incidents like this, you cannot touch the referee or any official.

Just because it's a high profile county game it shouldn't be any different.

The GAA will issue some statement condemning what happened and then do absolutely nothing

 

[dockingtrade]

refereeing error, part of the game so no replay. If there was replay then people in games where they lose by a point, could go back through a game find a guy took 6 steps before he passed the ball to a scoring player etc etc etc.

 

[Mpsox]

Because this is not the first time this has happened. Club sides have been kicked out of championships for assaults on referees by their supporters. Why should County teams be any different?

The only club sides that I am aware of (and I'll stand corrected on this) that were kicked out of the championship for something similer was where the people involved were players, officials and/or members of the club or were from the family of players of the club in question. A club or a county cannot and should not be held responsible for actions of the general public, regardless of what colours they wear or who they are shouting for. If the people who attacked the ref on Sunday are members of the GAA, then perhaps there is a case for far stronger action against Louth, but only if they are members

Wasn't in Croker on Sunday (far more pressing events in Thurles !!) but I always worry a little when I see a band-wagon approaching. I remember Louth beating Carlow in the championship in Parnell Park last year, can't have been no more then 2-3000 Louth fans at the game. Where have the other 20000 "die hard" fans been for the last few years?

 

[PyritePete]

IMHO Louth should be awarded a replay. THe GAA cant keep burying its head in the sand when it comes to controversial decisions. My point is, it has happened far too often in hurling & football for the GAA not to do anything about. Saying there is nothing in the rule book about awarding a replay in this situation is a cop-out. Leaving the decision to the meath players and management is according to Bernard Flynn (meath ex-player) the GAA abdicatiing its responsibilities. I am not from Louth.

THe thugs should be banned for life I dont care which county they come from, including my own. The actions of these thugs makes it easy for the GAA to do nothing even though Louth suffered a major injustice. Its all too convenient.

The GAA is an amateur organisation - just look at the level of stewarding/Gardai presence on Sunday.

 

[MrMan]

The only club sides that I am aware of (and I'll stand corrected on this) that were kicked out of the championship for something similer was where the people involved were players, officials and/or members of the club or were from the family of players of the club in question. A club or a county cannot and should not be held responsible for actions of the general public, regardless of what colours they wear or who they are shouting for. If the people who attacked the ref on Sunday are members of the GAA, then perhaps there is a case for far stronger action against Louth, but only if they are members

Wasn't in Croker on Sunday (far more pressing events in Thurles !!) but I always worry a little when I see a band-wagon approaching. I remember Louth beating Carlow in the championship in Parnell Park last year, can't have been no more then 2-3000 Louth fans at the game. Where have the other 20000 "die hard" fans been for the last few years?

Why only if they are members? Many people enjoy the GAA games and get involved locally but don't take up membership.

 

[VOR]

If you followed this train of thought, then would you throw Tipp out of the championship for homophobic abuse of Donal Og Cusack by a couple of idiots on the terraces or Kilkenny for racist abuse by one person of Sean Og O'hailpin in Nowlan Park last year?. If we threw teams out of championships because of the behaviour of a small number of idiots, then there wouldn't be much of a championship left.

If it kept happening then action would have to be taken. That's if the GAA are serious about stomping out violence and racism. I am sure that the good people of Tipp and Kilkenny would point out the culprit quickly if they believed that their county would lose home advantage for the next game or a worse punishment.
How often do you see people thrown out of the stadium at GAA matches?

 

[Mpsox]

Why only if they are members? Many people enjoy the GAA games and get involved locally but don't take up membership.

Why should Louth GAA be punished if they are not members? Surely that's not fair?

 

[MrMan]

Why should Louth GAA be punished if they are not members? Surely that's not fair?

I can support my county without being a member of the GAA is my point. Membership is only a part of the GAA, what you're saying is that those that don't pay a fee don't have a legit voice.

 

[TheShark]

And lets not forget that many "genuine" Louth supporters were on the phone to Fitzgibbon St Garda Station on Sunday evening giving the names and addresses of those involved in the assault on Mr. Sludden.
Lets hope these thugs find themselves "slopping-out" in the Joy in the near future.