Meath v Louth Leinster Final saga

Louth Co Board will not take any further action on the result of the Leinster SFC final result, it has been confirmed. Louth Co Board has released a statement confirming that while they were disappointed with the outcome of Sunday's game, they were now anxious to move on. They also confirmed that they had not intended to take legal action at any stage. Louth will now play in the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers - fourth round. TUESDAY NIGHT'S MEETING IN NAVAN "Hell" was the one-word description used by Meath GAA Co Committee secretary Cyril Creavin following Tuesday night's management meeting at Teach na Teamhrach, Navan. The secretary was referring to how he would describe what the previous two days were like for him and the members of Meath Co Committee. The only item on the agenda for the specially convened meeting was the fall-out from Sunday's Leinster SFC final victory over Louth at Croke Park and the continuation of deliberations from Monday night's meeting. Then, delegates were told that a decision would not be made on the matter until Tuesday night pending clarification of a number of issues. The management committee had voted on the matter on Monday night, but the result of that vote was not disclosed although it is believed that their was a majority in favour of offering Louth a replay at that stage. However, after the full contents of the referee's report were considered by the management committee, a copy of the report was received today, the matter became more clearcut. "We received a copy of the referee's (Martin Sludden) report today, Tuesday," stated Creavin. "The referee indicated in his report that he blew the whistle for a penalty, but changed his mind and awarded the goal by Joe Sheridan when he saw that the ball had crossed the line. "Meath Co Committee has also been advised today by Leinster Council that, in accordance with rule 6.41 and acting on the referee's report from the game, that Meath are the winners. "Having considered all aspects of the game, and the subsequent suggestions, as well as the referee's report and the Leinster Council ruling, as far as Meath Co Committee are concerned, this is the end of the matter. "We are disappointed at the manner in which we and the team have been placed in such an unenviable position over the past two days," added Creavin, a Dunshaughlin clubman. Regarding the pressure over the last two days, Creavin outlined that he felt it was very unfair on Meath for something that they no control over. "We had a lengthy meeting on Monday night, we had to consider the players and we had to consult with them today, we had to wait on the referee's report and the letter today from Leinster Council. "When we had all that completed, we discussed everything tonight, looked at the facts and arrived at our decision. "I imagine that there will be disappointment in some quarters, but I'm also sure it will be possible to see the position Meath GAA was placed in. "We have to stand by the decision, some like it, some don't, but we just have to move on from here. "It would have been helpful if we had got a bit more direction from Croke Park on the matter. "I know the rules are there and we have to abide by them, but if we had proposed a re-fixture we would probably have breached some rule as well. "Everyone converged on the Meath about this matter, the media arrived in large numbers, the full facts of the referee's report were not provided to us yesterday and that heaped more pressure on us. "I'm sure Louth feel aggrieved as well, but we have to work by the rules and the referee's report is final. "We can't be expected to deviate from that for the benefit of Louth," concluded Creavin.