Galway referee Jimmy Cooney has hit back at claims by Ger Loughnane that there was more to the premature ending of the 1998 All-Ireland Hurling Championship semi-final replay than a mere time-keeping error.
Cooney famously blew the match up a few minutes early with Clare three points in the ascendancy at the time. Offaly fans staged a sit-down protest on the Croke Park pitch and on the Monday morning it was decided to play the game again the following Saturday in Thurles.
Michael Bond's men went on to win that match on a 0-16 to 0-13 scoreline, much to the chagrin of Banner boss Loughnane.
At the weekend, the saga was re-visited during an interview with Loughnane broadcast on RTÉ's Sunday Sport programme discussing the incident, which had been resurrected from the archives for RTÉ's Top 20 GAA Moments series(www.rte.ie/tv/gaamoments).
Cooney has reacted with shock to the comments, telling the Irish Indpendent that the outspoken Loughnane "had lost the run of himself".
He added: "I was absolutely amazed when I heard what he said. I have no idea where it came from or what he was on about. I'm very annoyed that he would even suggest that it was anything other than a genuine time-keeping mistake.
"We're talking about something that happened nearly seven years ago and now he wants to put a new spin on it...it seems everybody except Ger Loughnane accepts my version of events. That's good enough for me."
This Saturday, from 8pm to 9pm on RTÉ Two, Michael Lyster presents a full run-down of all 20 GAA Moments. The series will climax in a live special on Saturday, May 7, revealing the favourite moment of the TV age, as voted for by members of the public.
