Old scoring difference rules likely to apply as Offaly GAA assesses implications of DRA ruling

A NEW quarter-final in the Offaly Senior “B” Football Championship and the application of the old scoring difference rules in other championships are the likely outcome of a Disputes Resolution Authority ruling on Friday night.

The Offaly GAA County Board are assessing the implications of a DRA ruling that their championship regulations were not in order following a change of an Official Guide rule about the way scoring difference is applied in the event of ties in group stages of championships.

They ruled in favour of Gracefield GAA club who argued that they should have finished in first position of their SFC “B” group and not in third place according to Offaly's championship regulations – the rule relating to scoring difference had been changed at Congress earlier this year.

The change meant that the scoring difference was only counted from the games involving the three teams who tied in group 2, Gracefield, Clonbullogue and Ballycommon in this case. Under the old rules where scoring difference was counted from all games, Gracefield would have been top and directly in the semi-finals. The new rules, however, meant that Clonbullogue were top and Gracefield third, with Ballycommon second.

Gracefield argued that the Offaly GAA championship regulations were not changed to meet the new rules and appealed to Leinster Council, where they lost. They then took their case to the DRA and tried to get last weekend’s quarter-finals postponed. The DRA ruled that they could go ahead as Gracefield had not met the criteria for interim relief but they stated that they were still entitled to a full hearing of their case.

Gracefield grinded out a hard earned win over Ballycumber in the quarter-finals last Saturday. Despite that, they pursued a full hearing with the DRA and won that case on Friday evening. The semi-finals draw took place on Monday and fixtures were made for next weekend for Gracefield v Clonbullogue and Cappincur v Ballycommon.

The County Board received verbal notification of the DRA decision on Friday night and it could be some time before they receive a full written ruling.

They were awaiting more information from the DRA on Saturday on what they need to do but it is certain that last Saturday's quarter-final between Gracefield and Ballycumber will be declared null and void and the likelihood is a new quarter-final between Clonbullogue and Ballycumber – the other quarter-final between Ballycommon and Walsh Island was not affected by the rule changes.

It remains to be seen if Ballycumber have any appetite for playing a second quarter-final. They may have as they only received confirmation late on Friday evening week that the first quarter-final was going ahead but they also have a big decision to make.

If Ballycumber do play, it will delay the championship by a couple of weeks while a new draw for the semi-finals will have to take place either way. The big losers are Clonbullogue, who may now have to play a quarter-final they hadn't expected to and Cappincur, who face a long wait from their final group game to the semi-final.

There is also the possibility of a three way tie in group 1 of the Senior Hurling Championship this weekend. Kilcormac-Killoughey, Birr and St Rynagh's will be tied on six points if Birr beat K-K and St Rynagh's defeat Kinnitty this weekend. That is the exact same scenario of the SFC “B” group with the top team qualifying for the semi-finals and the next two into the quarter-finals.

The exact rules in place for scoring difference will have to be clarified before those group 1 games take place tomorrow. Following the DRA ruling, however, it is likely that the old scoring difference rules will have to apply to conform with the Offaly regulations and that the results from the Kinnitty and Tullamore games will count. If this is the case, K-K are very much in pole position for a semi-final place, even if they lose as their scoring difference is +29 points, St Rynagh's +12 and Birr +11.