Saturday's bizarre events at Croke Park created a nightmare for so many people that it's hard to know where to start. We should be thankful as a preliminary that the Games Administration Committee acted yesterday to sort out the issue of the replay so that the teams can at least prepare immediately rather than waiting around until tonight for the decision.

In truth, the decision should have been made on the evening of the unwittingly abandoned match. For once there were no grey areas in the Official Guide, no ambiguities. It was plain that the match would have to be replayed and a quick announcement to that effect would have saved the GAA the embarrassment of the sit-down protest by Offaly supporters and the calling-off of the under-21 match between Kerry and Kildare - a dreadful disappointment for the teams who had prepared for what was, after all, their All-Ireland final.

It is very hard not to feel sorry for Jimmy Cooney. A simple error - one that was waiting to happen in a big match - placed him in a desperate situation and has undermined his career as an inter-county referee. Once he realised his mistake, he tried re-start the play but everything had spun beyond restitution by that stage.

The argument for an official timekeeper is not only now obvious, but it has certainly become unavoidable. Everyone who watched saw the simplicity of the procedure in the World Cup where officials held up electronic boards with the number of minutes injury-time to be played.

A similar, visible device should be in use at all big matches to count down the time remaining so that everyone is aware of what stage a match has reached. But primarily - and this should extend to as many levels as possible - the referee shouldn't have to assume the burden of keeping time in addition to other duties.

Clare are the most obvious victims of the whole fiasco. Whereas Offaly have been greatly inconvenienced - and whichever of them survives into the final will have played considerably more matches than opponents Kilkenny - they also have reason to feel relieved.

No-one doubts the county's resilience, but getting a replay has to compare favourably with trying to pull back a three-point deficit against the All-Ireland champions, even over five minutes, the maximum amount of time likely to have been due.

After two gruelling matches against Waterford and now a third against Offaly, Clare's resources are bound to be depleted given the high intensity of their game. That they have to do this only a fortnight before the All-Ireland final is not due to any failing on their part, or indeed Offaly's, but places a considerable strain on the team.

There has been some talk about deals being done: if Clare accept the replay, the GAC and Management Committee may look favourably on the investigation into Ger Loughnane's outburst on Clare FM and centrefielder Colin Lynch's three-month suspension.

Whatever about Loughnane's attack on the probity of Munster Council officials, it is now possible to make a case for Lynch. Up until now, the arguments in favour of reducing the player's suspension smacked of special pleading given his wild behaviour in the Munster final replay.

A couple of issues now bear directly on Lynch's case. Firstly, the central Clare contention that their player was singled out for attention - while others got off more lightly than they should have - has now been aggravated.

The inconsistencies in the treatment of Waterford players relative to Lynch could be fairly ascribed to the random and erratic nature of the GAA's disciplinary procedures. Events on Saturday have added greatly to Clare's case.

Two Offaly players - Michael Duignan and Johnny Pilkington - should have got the line on Saturday. They didn't. Duignan could actually have been ordered off at two separate junctures. Because the replay is six days away, there would be no time to conduct an investigation into the issue similar to the one launched in Lynch's case. Offaly will therefore have the use of both men in Thurles.

The inconsistencies have now become too loaded and have too vital a bearing on the match.

Secondly and because of the daftness of the GAA's suspension system, Lynch will now miss three big championship matches - one more than could have been envisaged at the time the three months were handed down.

Two years ago, Meath and Mayo players served similarly sized suspensions in the middle of winter and in some cases were doubtless glad to do so given the trivial nature of the fixtures they were missing and the conditions at that time of year.

There is a good case for Lynch's suspension to be reduced to two months and for him to miss no more matches than the three against Offaly.