Offaly proposal causes headaches

Central Council's decision to defer a final ruling on the nature of next year's Division One has caused scheduling difficulties for the GAA's Competitions Control Committee.

It won't be known until next month's meeting of Central Council whether the 2008 Division One will comprise nine or 10 teams. At last Friday's annual congress meeting of the council Offaly requested a larger division be considered, and their forebodings were confirmed on Sunday with a crushing defeat by Limerick in the relegation play-off.

Under the nine-team format agreed last autumn Limerick would now play the winners of the NHL Division Two title, either Laois or Wicklow, for the final place in next season's top section. But should that decision be reviewed by Central Council to extend the numbers to 10, the winners of the second-division final would play Offaly.

It is also understood that should Offaly's plea be accepted, Antrim are likely to ask for an exemption from their automatic relegation on the grounds of the difficulties in switching between senior championship MacCarthy Cup status and Division Two.

Leinster secretary Michael Delaney, a member of the CCC, acknowledged the hold-up had complicated the schedule.

"I was surprised at the decision not to push ahead with the nine-team division," he said, "and that's allowing that we've an interest in Leinster in not seeing Offaly, one of our main championship counties - the last one before Kilkenny to win an All-Ireland - relegated to Division Two."

Offaly are already facing into the certainty of life in Division Four of the NFL, which this year carries with it the added penalty of exclusion from the All-Ireland qualifier series should they get knocked out of the championship before provincial final stage.

Ironically that's the level they reached last year, losing to Dublin in the final, and were they able to repeat the feat a place in the qualifiers would be theirs.

Ten years ago was the last time the NFL was organised on a strict hierarchical basis of four divisions, and coincidentally Offaly were also then in Division Four.

But more encouragingly from the county's point of view, they secured promotion at the end of the 1996-97 league and under the management of Tommy Lyons went on that summer to win the county's only Leinster title since the All-Ireland year of 1982.

Donegal are likely to appeal the second yellow card that led to centrefielder Kevin Cassidy being sent off in Sunday's semi-final win over Kildare.

Should it stand it would rule Cassidy out of next weekend's final against Mayo, as he would incur a two-week suspension for a second double-yellow dismissal this year.

County secretary Crona Regan said: "We're waiting for the referee's report and will make a decision then."

She also confirmed Brendan Devenney was the county's main injury concern after a recurrence of a knee injury.