Paddy Russell from Tipperary will referee the replay of the Ulster championship match between Cavan and Derry in Breffni Park on Sunday. Michael McGrath from Donegal, who refereed the drawn match, has indicated that he will be abroad on holiday with his family.
McGrath came in for severe criticism following his handling of the match at Casement Park last Sunday. In particular, he was criticised for awarding a second-half penalty to Cavan in controversial circumstances and also for playing six minutes of "injury-time" at the end of the tie during which he awarded a 45 to Derry which led to Joe Brolly scoring the equalising point after the kick had been taken by Anthony Tohill.
In a statement issued from Croke Park yesterday, the newly-formed Central Referees Appointments Committee pointed out that "as a matter of policy, referees will not automatically be re-appointed in the case of replays".
In the meantime, a spokesman for the Derry county board said yesterday that the board had not made any protest about the way the match was handled. Selection of the Derry team for Sunday has been postponed until tomorrow. A close eye is also being kept on Brolly, who had a bout of scarlet fever recently and was only brought on by Derry last Sunday in a last-ditch effort to save the match. The Croke Park statement on the refereeing change also referred to the fact that two Wicklow players, Kevin O'Brien and Hugh Kenny, had been asked to attend a meeting of the Games Administration Committee investigating the "tunnel incident" at half-time during the National League match between Wicklow and Westmeath in Mullingar on March 21st.
The statement said: "The GAC regrets that a wrong impression may have been given by virtue of the players being mentioned in the media in the context of the investigation. "No charge was ever made against (either) of these players and it was always accepted by the GAC that they were totally free of any charge." According to the statement, the players were asked to attend the GAC meeting "purely to assist the investigation".
Meanwhile, the GAC has confirmed that the case of Oisin McConville of Armagh, who was sent off in last Sunday's match against Donegal, was to be discussed at their meeting last night and that the decision will be made known today.
