Down GAA have released a statement saying that "there should be no right of an appeal against the appointment of a referee" following the officiating fiasco surrounding Sunday's county final – claiming that Kilcoo’s objections were "entirely baseless".
Paul Faloon was appointed to officiate the match between the holders and Burren at Páirc Esler, something Kilcoo objected to first at county level before taking a case to the GAA’s DRA after the Down Hearings Committee ruled against them. The ruling, seen by RTÉ Sport, was delivered on Saturday and also went against the Magpies, denying them "interim relief".
On Saturday, however, Faloon was no longer set to take charge of the match with Meath referee David Gough asked to assemble an officiating team.
Hours before throw-in on Sunday, RTÉ Sport learned that Gough was no longer intending to travel to Newry putting the final in real doubt.
The Down County Board were ultimately able to stage the final, won by nine points by Kilcoo, after Annaclone referee Brian Higgins stepped in.
On Sunday evening, Faloon’s club Drumgath released a statement stating that they were "extremely disappointed in the turn of events that led to our club referee, Paul Faloon, not officiating" with Down following that up with a statement of their own on Monday outlining the timeline but also registering their annoyance at the situation.
"As an inter-county championship match official of considerable standing, his was an appropriate appointment," it read. "We regard Paul as one of our best match officials, who has officiated at provincial and national level.
"An appeal against his appointment was then pursued by the Kilcoo club, on the grounds of perceived bias. We regarded this as entirely baseless and were determined to fight for the integrity of the referee and the appointment.
"A hearing took place on Thursday evening last (heard by the Down Hearings Committee), and the appeal was rejected.
"Kilcoo then lodged a claim with the Disputes Resolution Authority in Croke Park (the GAA’s highest resolution body), requesting interim relief on the matter and proposing, as a possible remedy, postponement of the game for a week if the application were to be successful.
"The DRA claim was heard on Saturday morning and the case put forward by Kilcoo was rejected. This was an entirely satisfactory ruling as it allowed the referee appointment to stand, and we communicated it to Paul."
The statement went on to say that even the possibility of a postponement so late in the day would not have saw their support for Faloon waver, as well as saying "matters transpired that became increasingly difficult to resolve".
"We were steadfast in our support of the appointment of Paul Faloon. Not even the notion of postponement would deter us from the clear opinion that everyone should respect his opinion.
"However, in the course of Saturday late morning and afternoon, matters transpired that became increasingly difficult for us to resolve. We were left with the prospect that there may be no referee for the fixture, and as a result, had no option but to appoint an alternative official to referee the game."
That initially was Gough, with Down deeming it "unfair" in the circumstances, to seek an internal appointment before the Meath referee informed them that he would not officiate at 11.30am on Sunday, less than two hours before the scheduled throw in. Brian Higgins was subsequently appointed.
"Whilst the final took place and we are very grateful to all of yesterday’s match officials, this was an extremely frustrating episode," the statement added.
"As an association, we are constantly hearing and talking about the need to respect our match officials. The appointment of Paul Faloon should have been respected and it is disappointing that this was challenged in the way that it was.
"There should be no right of appeal against the appointment of a referee.
"We will examine this episode and consider what needs to be put in place to ensure that this never happens again."
Watch Dingle v Mid Kerry in the Kerry Club Championship semi-finals on Saturday from 5.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
