Meath hurling boss Martin Ennis has hit out at the Christy Ring Cup final replay decision and has suggested that the Royals won’t fulfil the fixture.
After last Saturday's final at Croke Park, referee John O'Brien admitted that he had tallied the scoreline wrong, giving Meath a one-point victory by 2-18 to 1-20, but it emerged that the actual scoreline was 2-17 to 1-20 - a draw.
That led to yesterday’s decision by the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee to fix a replay for the match in Páirc Esler in Newry on Saturday (7pm).
Ennis told the Meath Chronicle: "I'm very disappointed with the decision of the GAA's CCC to order a replay of the Ring Cup final, effectively putting Antrim and ourselves against each other over a mistake that was of their making.
"I will contact each of the players to get their views, but how can the players be in the right frame of mind or be physically right to play a game next Saturday"
"We have no intention of paying the price for the mistake of the GAA. Asking us to replay a game that we firmly believe we won last Saturday is very disappointing.
"We sought clarification from the CCCC about Sean Heavey's perfectly good point in the 41st minute, but it appears to me that they never even looked at that score.
"I requested that the officials look at the point with Hawkeye at the time, but they refused, so what I want to know now is why did they refuse? I also want them to retrospectively go back and look at that decision.
"I'm also very disappointed that the GAA President made the comments he made this morning on RTE Radio. What was the point of having a CCCC meeting when it already appears as if the decision was already made.
"This really is shambolic and a farce and it is far from over yet. As a management team we are firmly against playing a replay to a game we have already won, collected the cup and celebrated.
"I will contact each of the players to get their views, but how can the players be in the right frame of mind or be physically right to play a game next Saturday. It's nothing short of a disgrace.”
