Sarsfields set to appeal decision to award U23 game to Naas

The decision on Sunday night by the Kildare CCC to award Naas the quarter-final football U23 match against Sarsfields is to be appealed by the Newbridge Club.

The quarter-final, at Naas on Saturday afternoon, saw the game end all square at 0-16 to 2-10, with extra time to follow, after a fine sporting encounter between the two fine sides.

Earlier during the game the Sarsfields manager was ordered off the sideline by the match official, however when he (manager) sought to be re-admitted for extra-time he was refused by referee Niall Colgan, who incidentally picked up the Mick Sammon Shield later than evening for Referee of the Year at the Kildare GAA Awards function.

When the official decided not to re-admit the Sarsfields manger, a senior (Sarsfields) officer approached the referee requesting that his manager be readmitted but the match official was having none of it and much to the astonishment of players, officials, spectators and this one member of the press who was present, turned and walked to his car saying he was abandoning the game.

The Kildare CCC having received the match report on Sunday then awarded Naas the game but it is understood that Sarsfields will appeal that decision and are expected to go as far as it takes to get remedy for what they feel is an extreme injustice.

One hopes that maybe a little bit of common sense would prevail on this occasion, for an incident that certainly from this reporter's perspective, seemed very innocuous, an incident that hardly lasted more than a minute, with few verbals audible from a distance of some ten yards.

It is expected that the Sarsfields appeal will be heard tonight (Tuesday) or Wednesday but unless a compromise of sorts is come to this is an appeal that could possibly, and very unnecessarily in this reporter's view, drag on and on.