On 11 July 2010, Louth and Meath met in the Leinster Senior Football Championship final at Croke Park, Dublin, in a rivalry rooted in some of the fiercest football contests of the 1940s and 1950s. Louth had not reached the provincial final since losing to Offaly in 1960 and had not beaten Meath at Croke Park since 1975. After Louth dominated much of the second half, JP Rooney scored a late goal and Louth led by a point entering the final minute. Meath had already reduced the deficit with two long-range frees from Cian Ward, but the match appeared to be slipping away from them. Louth's Colm Judge was then sent off for a second bookable offense, setting up a tense finish.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Meath's Graham Reilly sent the ball toward the goalmouth. After Séamus Kenny's shot was blocked by Louth captain Paddy Keenan, the ball fell into the square. Louth full-back Dessie Finnegan failed to clear, and Joe Sheridan reached the loose ball. Television replays showed Sheridan falling beyond the goal line and appearing to throw the ball into the net while already inside the square—multiple infringements under the rules. Referee Martin Sludden of County Tyrone nevertheless consulted his umpire, allowed the goal, and blew the final whistle almost immediately, giving Meath a 1–12 to 1–10 victory. Sludden later admitted in his referee's report that he had made a 'terrible mistake,' while Meath manager Eamon O'Brien declined to comment directly on the goal. Louth manager Peter Fitzpatrick called the decision 'daylight robbery' and compared Sludden to 'Dick Turpin without a mask.'
The disputed decision triggered an extraordinary breakdown in crowd control. Louth supporters invaded the pitch, chased Sludden, and at least four physically struck or assaulted him before Garda officers escorted the visibly shaken referee from the field. One fan in a red shirt shoved him in the chest. Bottles were thrown from the stands, injuring a steward, and Meath substitute Mark Ward was struck by a Louth supporter. Former Meath manager Seán Boylan became involved in an altercation with an angry Louth fan in a corporate box, while children in the stadium were left crying amid the disorder. Louth manager Fitzpatrick intervened to try to stop supporters attacking the referee, even though he had just watched his team lose in deeply controversial circumstances. GAA President Christy Cooney called the incident a watershed and promised life bans for those responsible for assaults; politicians and senior GAA figures condemned the violence. The association acknowledged that its rules left it unable to order a replay, and the result stood despite widespread support for Louth and criticism of Meath's victory. The episode remains one of Gaelic football's most notorious officiating controversies and, in later commentary, was described as the most controversial Leinster final ever.
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