Slaughtneil objection dismissed as Newbridge face Magherafelt final

Slaughtneil’s objection to their Derry Senior Football Championship semifinal defeat by Newbridge was dismissed by the county board on Tuesday night, clearing the way for this Sunday’s county final between Newbridge and Magherafelt at Celtic Park. The decision ends club-level redress over two late referee calls that Slaughtneil said decided the outcome of last weekend’s tie at Páirc Seán Óg Ó hEochaidh.

Newbridge beat Slaughtneil 0-21 to 1-16 in a match that turned on scores in injury time. Slaughtneil’s appeal focused on a late point from Shane McGuigan that umpires signalled as a one-point score, and on a subsequent free that referee Martin McErlain advanced 50 metres, from which Conor Doherty converted a two-point free. Slaughtneil argued McGuigan’s kick should have been awarded as a two-point score under the 40-metre arc rule, and questioned both the advancement of the free and whether Doherty’s attempt was well placed.

Slow-motion replays examined after the game suggested McGuigan’s standing foot may have been on the arc, a condition that can qualify a strike as a two-point score. Match officials, however, awarded the score as one point in real time, and the umpires’ signal...