Fog causes confusion over final scoreline

THE RESULT will stand, but doubts still surround the final scoreline of Sunday’s Leinster club hurling semi-final, and whether the game should have been completed at all.

It wasn’t so much that floodlights were needed in Cusack Park in Mullingar for the meeting of Oulart-the-Ballagh and Raharney, but rather fog lights – as visibility was gradually reduced from poor to practically zero.

Match referee Anthony Stapleton of Laois allowed the game continue until the end, at which stage few in attendance were sure of the exact outcome, other than the fact that Oulart-the-Ballagh had won.

Most newspapers yesterday carried a final score of 4-11 to 4-8 in favour of Oulart, the Wexford champions, although Stapleton has reported a final score of 4-10 to 4-9, again in Oulart’s favour.

There was no real disputing the result, however, as three of the Raharney goals were struck in the closing three minutes, thus suggesting a far tighter contest than it actually was – and yet many in attendance were left slightly baffled as to why the game was allowed continue.

“On the day, in a situation like that, any decision to abandon the game is purely at the discretion of the referee,” said Mick Curley, chairman of the National Referees Committee. “If there had been fog for two or three days beforehand and it showed no sign of lifting then the Leinster Council may have stepped in, and deemed the pitch unplayable for that reason.

“Once the referee is happy that he can see what is going on from one end of the pitch to another then fog shouldn’t be an issue. And it shouldn’t make any difference if it was football or hurling.

“Naturally, he would want to be able to see the goalposts at either end, although there is nothing in rule to state this. The guideline really is that the referee is happy that the fog isn’t a problem, but also that the players are safe.”

The confusion over the final score is partly explained by the fact that the scoreboard became invisible to those sitting in the press box, although the scoreboard is positioned in a corner of Cusack Park on the opposite side of the field. According to Curley, the problem with fog can sometimes appear worse off the field than on it, particularly to those sitting in the stands.

“I had the experience myself a few years back, when refereeing a game in London. My experience was the fog was actually a lot lighter on the field, and often is, compared to if you are watching it from some distance such as in the stands, or even on the sideline.

“And the pitch that day was playable, even though the fog was quite bad.

“Of course, games have been and often are abandoned because of the conditions, though nearly always because of rain or snow. Once the pitch becomes flooded, and player safety becomes an issue, then the referee has to consider that option. Although I don’t remember it ever happening at provincial competition level. Fog is different as well in that it can fall quite quickly, and also lift quite quickly.”

Indeed, Raharney, the Westmeath champions, were outplayed for most of the game, and trailed 3-10 to 1-8 going into the final three minutes – before the late goal-fest ensued.

Had things been closer throughout then the disputed final score may have become a real issue for the Leinster Council, although according to Curley, the final score submitted by the referee is the one that counts. “I’m not aware of the details there, and wouldn’t be until I spoke with the referee involved. But certainly the score the referee records in his match report is deemed as final, unless proven otherwise.”

It means Oulart-the-Ballagh will progress to the Leinster final on Sunday week, where they’ll play Kilkenny champions O’Loughlin Gaels. Oulart manager Liam Dunne, the former Wexford All-Ireland winner, admitted yesterday he did fear the game would be abandoned due to the fog, but that if it was, the Wexford champions would have been entitled to home advantage.

“You could hardly see the goalposts from where we were in the dug-out,” said Dunne. “We were hoping that the referee would not call off the match, but if he had done so, I think it would be only fair that the re-fixture would have been in Wexford.”