Louth vs Martin Sludden - Give it up lads!!!

I see that the Louth County Board have been giving off about Sludden refereeing the Naomh Conaill and Clontibret game on the weekend, branding his appointment "a complete joke"!

This stinks of sour grapes and is a massive dip in the dignity shown by Louth GAA after the Leinster Final debacle, which Sludden admitted getting wrong. Where will it end? Will Sludden issue a statement slamming the fact that Louth fans are allowed into a GAA ground in 2011?

Yes you were wronged, everyone knows that (even Loyal). I admired the class Louth GAA showed in the aftermath of the game, they showed more dignity than the GAA who shirked their responsibilities massively. Now you have cheapened yourselves by issuing this attack on Sludden for refereeing a game in a provience where you have no say anyway. Get over it Louth, you aren't the first county to be on the wrong end of a refs balls up and you won't be the last, suck it up, shut up and get on with it!

BE - in fairness I think one delegate (Roche Emmets?) at the meeting sounded off about it - not the whole board. He'd be better off looking at the club performances following their poor showing in Celebrity Bainisteoir! I see they were also giving out about the IRS and Paddy Keenan's shortage of game time! Well sorry lads but Paddy was a bit of a disaster for the bits when he was on ....

Jayo, i never let the facts get in the way of a good rant!!!

I suppose in fairness to your point you are correct, however the Louth Co Board could have distanced itself from the comments.

I suspect it is Tyrone people pretending to be from Louth who are complaining.

He is regarded as a joke in Tyrone, due to his over bearing arrogance.

Now, we can all make mistakes but most of us realise that.

Sludden doesn't. Shouldn't be allowed to ref except in Tyrone as they deserve him.

patrique wrote:
Sludden doesn't. Shouldn't be allowed to ref except in Tyrone as they deserve him.

Naughty naughty! Very naughty!

Oh Dear!!!!

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Boxtyeater wrote:Oh Dear!!!!

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I wouldn't have much time for Sludden but is he not being made a scapegoat here, whilst it was a glaring mistake there are other refs who make complete hames of other games, maybe a bit less obvious but mistakes all the same.

At a time when refs are under severe pressure is it not more we need and not less??????

bocerty wrote: I wouldn't have much time for Sludden but is he not being made a scapegoat here, whilst it was a glaring mistake there are other refs who make complete hames of other games, maybe a bit less obvious but mistakes all the same.

At a time when refs are under severe pressure is it not more we need and not less??????

Sludden's mistake, made on the spur of the moment, pales into insignificance when compared to the subsequent considered mistakes made by Meath County Board (in not offering a replay) and the Leinster Council (in not ordering one).

In fairness Sludden did make a massive mistake. But to add to the problem was his arrogant behaviour in instructing the umpires to give the goal although they were not in agrrement,Also despite Gardai telling him to get of the pitch he continued booking players and could have been seriously assaulted as a result of this. Peter Fitzpatrick met him in the dessing room also afterwards and his attitude was no better.

I agree with all of that RKF, but what of the arrogance of the Meath team and County Board in claiming the ill-gotten title, or the impotence of the Leinster Council in refusing to right a wrong. Those mistakes were all made behind closed doors, following days of discussion. Sludden's mistakes were made on the spur of the moment, after running 10k and surrounded by 80,000 people. I know in what circumstances I'd find it easier to make the right call.