Limerick Chairman Cregan calls for TV Match Official in GAA

John Fogarty of the Irish Examiner has today reported that Limerick County Board are to call on the GAA to introduce a TV Match official where possible.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Limerick GAA Chairman, John Cregan said that they are to put forward the proposal after Limerick were controversially denied a 65′ in the dying stages of their All-Ireland semi-final loss to Kilkenny.

As a result Cregan is hoping that the GAA consider introducing a system where teams have a number of challenges.

Speaking to John Fogarty, Cregan said,

“You’re not talking about something that is at the discretion of the referee but a playing rule whereby if a ball is deflected over the end-line by a defender it’s a 65. We took our beating, we have discussed the matter since obviously because a lot of people feel aggrieved by it.

Whether we would have scored the 65, we will never know and something else could have happened in the interim period before the final whistle blew but we were absolutely entitled to a 65.

“We have discussed it at management (committee level) and we have decided to proceed with something. I briefly mentioned it to Ard Stiúrthóir (Tom Ryan) when I met him and our thinking would be that somebody, be it a captain or manager, should have an entitlement to say to a referee, ‘Look, can we get a quick look at that upstairs because we feel there’s a genuine case for us?’

Limerick were at the wrong end of a controversial decision themselves in 2013 when Barry Nash’s effort in the All-Ireland minor Hurling semi-final was incorrectly judged to be wide by the Hawk Eye system.

Although the technology did not work in that particular juncture, the GAA has persisted with the system and Cregan is hopeful that some similar action can occur after Darragh O’Donovan’s deflected sideline went unnoticed by officials in Croke Park.

“Look, that (deflected sideline cut) was a season-ending incident if you want to argue that. When the incident occurred, some of our players were very much aware of what happened and others weren’t because it happened so fast.

We were at the end of an incident as we were with our minors and Hawk Eye a few years back (2013 All-Ireland minor final) and it’s difficult to take.

Find the full story by Fogarty here.