Controversy rages over ‘lost minutes’

July 1984

It is seldom that controversy doesn’t rage after a provincial final ends with a very narrow victory for one side or the other - and so it proved after Offaly beat Wexford by just one point (1-15 to 2-11) in Sunday’s Leinster Senior Hurling decider in Croke Park.

Indeed, the arguments are still continuing this week into the amount of injury time that was played by Kikenny referee Pascal Long, and just as importantly, the amount of time that should have been played.

Having trailed for most of the second half, Wexford brought the margin back to just one point as they scored their second goal just as the game went into injury time. However, about half a minute later, Mr Long caught the ball in mid-air as it travelled down the field, and called an end to proceedings.

Even the Offaly players and mentors seemed surprise that the game was ended so abruptly, for there is no way that Mr Long allowed extra time for two lenghty stoppages that occurred during the second half, as medical teams first dealt with Wexford’s Eamon Cleary and then with Offaly’s Aidan Fogarty.

In the case of Aidan Fogarty alone, reporters put the stoppage at more than three minutes, as his injury came at the Railway End and he was attended to by two St. John’s Ambulance men who had to come all the way from the Canal End – and who did not exactly break any speed records as they did so.

Overall, spectators felt there should have been extra time of anything up to five minutes played.

The referee, when questioned afterwards, claimed he had played two minutes. He needs a new watch.

Referees have total discretion over how much added time they allow for injuries and other stoppages. However, surely it is time that a directive was brought in to allow matches to be timed electronically.

Mr Long’s decision will be remembered in Wexford for many years to come. Not with much affection, though.