Scoreboard blunder 'shouldn't have happened'

Henry Shefflin says the scoreboard controversy which overshadowed Tipperary’s All-Ireland SHC semi-final victory over Kilkenny was unacceptable.

The closing stages were shrouded in confusion after the scoreboard operator incorrectly added a point to Tipperary’s tally, leaving Kilkenny under the impression they had to chase a four-point deficit instead of three. And while the Cats sportingly didn’t make an issue of it, Shefflin admitted that it had left a sour taste in the mouth.

“We are all GAA people and stand for what the GAA has been all about, the professional nature that it has become as an organisation,” the 10-time All-Ireland SHC winner said on The Sunday Game.

“But for this incident to happen in an All-Ireland semi-final at a critical moment was something that shouldn't have happened. I hope there will be learnings from it. The wide was given, very clear. The decision-making after that then, Kilkenny think they're four points behind instead of being three...

“The impact on those players that have given nine months training, and a scoreboard in a professional setup with 80,000 people was something that shouldn't have happened.”

The Kilkenny legend added: “We always tald about players and that Cork have learnings to take from today, the GAA have learnings (from this). The communication around it has been something that's a bit baffling to all of us, because we discussed it in advance.

“There hasn't been much noise about it and it seems like it has just moved on. I think it's very important that the GAA and the decision makers are sure of the process around that.

“The time and effort that the players and management put into this is paramount that at least the score is absolutely correct.”