Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael, Aogán Ó Fearghail, has said the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) will meet today to rule on Saturday’s disputed Christy Ring Cup Final.

Meath were crowned champions but it has been suggested there was an error in score-keeping and the match with Antrim actually ended in a draw. Speaking on the RTE Radio 1 show, ‘Morning Ireland’, after conducting the draw for Rounds 1A and 1B of the All-Ireland Football Qualifiers, Ó Fearghail confirmed the CCCC will convene on the matter today.

“We’ll have a busy CCCC meeting obviously today. Our CCCC will meet to address these Qualifier draws that we’ve just done but they will address the match,” he said. “The committee in charge will always take charge and take responsibility and they will do that in this case. They won’t hedge or duck or dive from that.

“The referee’s report will be considered. I said it yesterday and I’ll say it today, fairness is very important. And if it’s found by the CCCC in the issue of fairness that the game ended in a draw then they will act on that. Now, I can’t pre-empt that. The CCCC will make that judgement, and there are always a lot of issues to be looked into.

“I’m not saying it will have to be replayed, I’m suggesting that the reports we’re hearing, that the referee made a genuine error, which can happen, it’s a human error. If the reports are accurate then the game ended in a draw, that’s what I’m hearing. If it ended in a draw, it did, these things happen.”

If the CCCC finds that the match did indeed end in a draw, Ó Fearghail said there is no mechanism by which Meath and Antrim will both be allowed to compete in the Round Robin of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship next year. Only one team – the ultimate winners of the tie – can earn that reward.

“No, that’s not an option,” said Ó Fearghail. “That sounds nice at times and it’s lovely to be nice to everyone and we would like to do that and I’m sure that’s what people’s instant reaction was but we have to be fair and we also have to be honest. They are the two things – being fair and being honest.

“The CCCC will consider the referee’s report. If there’s a winner, there’s a winner, and that will also be a consideration. But if the referee did make a genuine human error and admits that then I’ve no doubt the CCCC will act fairly and if it ended in a draw there’s only one action they can take.

“If it ended in a draw, and, again, I’m using the word ‘if’, then you have to have a winner. You can’t have two winners.”

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