THE remainder of Antrim’s senior football championship could be pushed back if Ulster Council finds in favour of an objection taken on by Creggan over their quarter-final defeat by Lámh Dhearg.
Creggan formally lodged their appeal this morning against Antrim CCC’s decision to stick with the awarding of the game to Lámh Dhearg.
“Kickhams have reviewed the outcome of their objection to Antrim CCC and after careful consideration have progressed an appeal to Ulster,” a club spokesman confirmed.
The Kickham’s complaint centred on an alleged ‘16th man’ offence during passage midway through the second half of normal time.
Lámh Dhearg scored from the resulting attack after a substitute had entered the field of play but the player we was replacing did not come off.
Their counter-argument was that a different player than the one being substituted off had made his way to the side of the pitch at the beginning of the same passage and so wasn’t on the field, leaving them with 15 men.
Antrim CCC told the clubs on Sunday morning it had found in favour of Lámh Dhearg following a hearing on Saturday afternoon.
Creggan have decided to take the case on to Ulster, who are likely to convene a meeting in the next few days that could potentially avoid knock-on effects for the whole championship.
As it stands, Lámh Dhearg are due to play Portglenone in the first semi-final on Saturday afternoon, with holders Cargin meeting league champions St Brigid’s on Sunday.
Those games would almost certainly go ahead as scheduled if Ulster holds a hearing – which could take place as late as Friday night – and finds in favour of Lámh Dhearg.
If they were to find in favour of Creggan, however, the most likely outcome would be a replay that would not be able to take place until at least 96 hours after the decision is made.
If the hearing was Friday, the earliest a potential replay would be able to take place would be Wednesday night.
The final is currently set for October 13 but if a Creggan-Lámh Dhearg replay is ordered, that would almost certainly have to be pushed back.
With the county hurling final on October 20, the most probable date would be October 27.
Antrim’s senior football champions are not in provincial action until their quarter-final on November 9/10.
It might not feel like it right now but a possible delay might benefit the eventual winners in terms of leaving them just two weeks until Ulster rather than four as it currently stands.
That all depends on Ulster’s findings and, beyond that, whether either club decides to take further boardroom action.
Either side could take it to Croke Park’s hearings committee and beyond that the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA), all of which could potentially delay proceedings even further if it goes down that road.