Ulster GAA President backs referee's decision to abandon Ulster semi-final

Monaghan champions Scotstown were leading 1-04 to 0-3 after a weather hit first half that had seen patches of the Healy Park begin to deteriorate in the driving rain, something which prompted Cavan official McQuillan to conduct a half-time inspection of the surface after which the decision was taken to call the tie off.

The semi-final has now been re-fixed for next Sunday (November 30th) at 4.00pm in the Athletic Grounds in Armagh with the winners taking on Down champions, Kilcoo on Saturday, December 13th, one week later than the original Ulster final date which was December 7th. The Ulster Council also stated all tickets purchased for Sunday’s abandoned fixture would remain valid for next week’s re-fixed semi-final.

"I'm disappointed, but it's the referee's call and it's the correct call when you see the conditions of the pitch," stated the Ulster President, "The health and safety of the players is the first and most important thing in any of our games. That was the referee's only concern, that it wasn't safe to play that game in the second half. It's a sensible decision."

"We regret the game had to be called off, but safety is paramount to everybody," he added, "Again, it's the referee's decision. He's the most experienced referee in the country and we back his decision 100% back."

With the Ulster Senior Club hurling final between Slaughtneil and St. John’s scheduled for next Saturday in the Armagh Athletic Grounds, Sunday's postponement leaves Ulster GAA with a headache over where to fit the re-fixed match in on an already congested calendar.

"It's winter football, but it's a competition that everyone loves and there's so much interest in this competition" added the Ulster President who confirmed the pitch had not been inspected after the conclusion of the Intermediate Club semi-final between Glenullin and Carrickmacross.

"The pitch was playable beforehand, but as the game went on the conditions got a lot worse. It was inspected before the first game this morning and at that stage, going by the weather apps, it was to be very windy with very little rain forecast. The rain turned out to be horrendous and the wind just really compounded the matter, so we had a problem.

"Again, the referee is the person who's in charge of the game. The first game went ahead and proceeded to be okay but nobody can call the conditions, nobody can forecast. We live in Ireland, we get all sorts of weather, particularly this time of year."

Meanwhile frustrated Scotstown manager David McCague said that while disappointed, he had to respect the referee’s decision.

“Ah, look, the referee has a decision to make in the interest of the safety of players,” he explained, “In his opinion, he determined that there were a few patches in the field that weren't conducive to health and safety and he decided that at half-time. That's his right to do so and I suppose we have to respect that.

“Like the players on the field, the referee makes decisions, be he right or wrong, and we have to stick to the referee's decision so I respect Joe McQuillan’s decision.”

The Scotstown manager said said his biggest frustration was for his players whom he revealed were shocked when informed they wouldn't be returning to the pitch for the second half.

“Ah look, I'm annoyed that the game wasn't finished, I am, but I'm delighted it's still in the Ulster Championship," he explained, "So look, there's some sort of mixed emotions in that.

"I suppose for players as well, this is a big part of players' lives and they've put an awful lot on the line over the last two weeks and we make huge demands of them. I suppose they're delighted from one perspective that those demands will continue but there's an element of doubt now around where the next game will be, when it will be; will it be Saturday, will it be Sunday.

“But look, we'll roll with it, we talk about it being adaptable and we'll roll with the punches as the fella says."