Ballycumber have been reinstated to the Offaly SFC ‘B’ after Gracefield won their appeal to the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) over the way the knockout stages were decided.

The West Offaly club were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Gracefield, but have been handed a reprieve after Gracefield’s appeal proved successful. The new scoring difference rule, which states that where scoring difference is used, it should only apply to the games involving the teams that finish tied, has also caused confusion in a number of other counties, including Meath, Clare and Tipperary.

In this case, three teams - Gracefield, Clonbullogue and Ballycommon - finished joint top of Group 2 of the Offaly SFC ‘B’ on four points. Gracefield believed they had finished top on scoring difference and would therefore go straight into the semi-finals. However, when the new scoring difference rule was applied, they ended up finishing third which put them into a quarter-final against Ballycumber instead.

The Laois-border club then lodged an appeal with the Leinster Council, arguing that Offaly GAA regulations had not been changed to comply with the new rule. They lost their case and then lodged a further appeal to the DRA and tried to get the quarter-finals postponed.

The DRA did not agree to this, but the body ruled that the club was entitled to a full hearing on the matter which Gracefield surprisingly decided to pursue, despite winning their quarter-final.

Arising from Gracefield’s successful appeal, Offaly CCC has fixed a new quarter-final between Ballycumber and Clonbullogue for Sunday week in Daingean, while this weekend’s scheduled semi-finals have been postponed until the weekend of September 22-24.

 

Following our appeal and the ruling of the DRA on the matter, the club would like to issue the following statement, thank you to everyone involved and the show of support in this appeal.⚫️🔴⚫️ pic.twitter.com/VWJKAJ47PR

— Gracefield GAA (@Gracefield_GAA) September 5, 2023

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