Down GAA hit out at Kilcoo over 'baseless' referee objections after county final fiasco

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