Crokes reject offer of refixture

The Mark Vaughan controversy will have to be resolved where it all started, back at the GAA's Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA). The news emerged from yesterday evening's meeting at Kilmacud Crokes at which the club discussed the St Brigid's offer of a refixture of the Dublin championship match without Vaughan playing.

But Kilmacud, who won the original match before being put out on foot of an objection from St Brigid's, declined the offer and hope to reinstate their victory before the DRA.

The winners will face Parnells in the next round but with Dublin footballers still involved in the All-Ireland championship there are no immediate matches in the pipeline. The DRA will empanel a new three-man committee to hear the latest manifestation of this matter.

St Brigid's made their offer at the weekend after last week's decision of the GAA's Central Appeals Committee (CAC) to uphold the Leinster Council's ruling that Kilmacud had to be removed from the championship for fielding an invalid player.

Vaughan had been cleared by the association's disputes resolution committee to play in the match against St Brigid's but after it emerged that the Official Guide, on which the ruling was based, had failed to incorporate properly a relevant motion passed in 1996, St Brigid's objected and, although turned down by the Dublin County Board, were successful at Leinster Council and the CAC.

Originally it had been ruled that the player didn't have to serve a one-match suspension picked up in last year's Leinster championship until the club were back in that competition and so could play in the county championship. But after considering what the rule book should have read, Leinster and the CAC took the opposite view.

Meanwhile, ahead of next Saturday's All-Ireland football quarter-final replay, both Dublin and Tyrone have some injury concerns. Darren Homan injured his back in training at the weekend and needs a scan but is thought likely to be available.

Joe McMahon, who did well when introduced to the Tyrone centrefield in the drawn match, is suffering from flu but is likely to be all right.

The match was confirmed as having a 2.30 throw-in and will be preceded by the women's quarter-final between the same counties, which starts at 12.45.

The under-21 All-Ireland hurling semi-finals also take place this Saturday with Galway - in the running for a treble with the seniors and minors already in their All-Ireland finals - taking on Cork in Limerick's Gaelic Grounds at 3.30 and Kilkenny playing Antrim in Navan at 4.30.