BY KIERAN McCARTHY
THE Carbery U21A football final will not be played this Sunday, as planned, because there is still no white smoke in the saga that has engulfed the semi-final between Ibane Gaels and Carbery Rangers.
Newcestown defeated Castlehaven in the second semi-final on Tuesday night, but it’s still not clear what the final line-up will look like following the confusion over the full-time score in the last-four clash of Ibane and Carbery Rangers on Sunday, December 3rd.
While defending champions Ibane won after extra-time, 1-12 to 0-13, the issue surrounds the confusion over the full-time score as Carbery Rangers are adamant they won 0-9 to 0-8. The referee, Michael Collins, insisted the scores were level, 0-9 apiece, so extra-time was played in Ballineen.
The Southern Star understands that the uncertainty over the scoreline after 60 minutes can be traced back to the opening half, after which many observers – including the Star reporter covering the match and the ‘X’ live match updates from both Carbery Rangers and Barryroe GAA clubs – had Rangers leading 0-4 to 0-3, whereas the referee recorded the scoreline as 0-4 apiece. To add to the confusion, there was no scoreboard at the pitch in Ballineen either.
Carbery Rangers have since appealed the full-time score, and their initial appeal last week was rejected by the CCC of the Carbery Board, who are standing by the referee’s report.
There was another hearing between the Carbery CCC and Carbery Rangers on Monday night, with Ibane Gaels also present, and The Southern Star understands that Ibane offered a replay of the game. But Carbery Rangers’ latest appeal was also rejected, with the Carbery CCC standing by the referee’s report. The Rosscarbery club is now appealing this decision to Cork County Board, as the row rumbles on.
The knock-on effect is that the Carbery U21A FC final will now be pushed back, with the date of December 31st mooted as a possibility, but it all depends on the result of Carbery Rangers’ appeal.
