Making a Write Humphries of Things
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He normally is sensitive to the nuances and subtleties of our national games where a man who can be the subject of national acclaim or opprobium on the given Sunday can get up and go to work the next day without being subject to unnecessary ridicule or despair.
Last Monday Humphries used the opportunity of Martin Sludden’s unfortunate mistake in the Leinster final featuring Louth and Meath to coin the phrase the Sluddenisation of our games, referring to SluddenGate, Sluddenectomy and so on.
There is no doubt Martin Sludden made a bit of a balls of things but no more than other referees and for that matter players and officials up and down the country do week in week out.
The GAA is that most human of organisations. No better illustrated than by the fact that having made a balls of the decision to disallow Meath’s goal the referee then set in train a motion of off pitch events that ultimately led nowhere with the GAA authorities led by An Uachtarán himeslf engaging in a bit of handwashing that Prionnsias Pilate himself would have been proud of. Cooney and the lads can’t have been happy with the way this all turned out.
Louth came out of the affair with their heads held high and it could all yet be further forgotten if they can beat an unimpressive Dublin team this weekend. The Meath players have a tainted trophy away home with them, compounding their sin. But asking them to decide whether they should replay the match was like asking Turks to vote for Christians.
Meanwhile Tom made a Humphries of the whole thing. He may be right about some things, but Martin Sludden deserves a bit of peace at this stage. He admitted his mistake. Time to move on. If the GAA won’t solve the problem than there’s not much further to be said is there.
