There was disappointment and frustration for the young hurlers of Mayo and Meath in Ballyvary last Saturday when their Celtic Challenge quarter-final didn’t go ahead after the referee failed to show up.

A breakdown in communication between officials and the appointed referee meant that it was a wasted journey for Meath who had to travel home without pucking a ball.

“Both ourselves and Meath were here and we went through our warm-up preparations and got the teams ready. Everything was lined up, but there was no sign of a referee,” Mayo U17 hurling manager Brian Finn explained to Midwest Radio.

“John Kane from Galway was appointed to do our game, but when we rang him, he told us he had no knowledge of the game and hadn’t got any notification of the Celtic Challenge fixture.

“So Meath had to get on the bus and head back. It was very deflating for the boys. They’re young lads of 16 and 17 – an All-Ireland quarter-final in the Celtic Challenge is a huge day for them. They were warmed up, primed and ready, and were told there was no game.

“Very deflating.”

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