When the English football magazine When Saturday Comes celebrated its 50th edition a few years back, they surprised many by naming Chelsea chairman Ken Bates as the man they felt had contributed most to the game since their publication had arrived on the scene.

There were plenty of people around the office, they admitted, who had reservations about some of the contributions Bates had made. But, they wrote, in an attempt to explain their selection, "even Vlad the Impaler loved his children".

Much the same thing might be written about Shelbourne secretary Ollie Byrne, who, by his admission, is sometimes just a little over-enthusiastic in his utterings when it comes to his beloved Shelbourne.

Still, there's no doubting Byrne's contribution to the game here over the last few years, and it's easy to understand how passionate he became after Sunday's game in Cork when a moment of carelessness, or a lapse in concentration, on the part of referee Jimmy O'Neill did little to help the cause of a club he has done so much to make more professional.

It is, of course, unlikely Shelbourne, already and somewhat controversially down to nine men, would have salvaged a point from the game, but, as Bates' team showed in their Cup Winners Cup tie against Copenhagen a couple of weeks ago, you can score right up until the death.

In this case, O'Neill's error (to which he is said to have admitted in his report on the game) left Shelbourne feeling that, whatever the result would have been, they had been robbed.

Byrne says he expects the league to make an order that the game be replayed on the basis that Rule Seven of the Laws of the Game state that the game consists of two 45minute halves and that time will be added on to make up for stoppages. That many observers believed O'Neill ended the game before even the minimum 90 minutes had been completed is, Byrne believes, a key point.

But FIFA's record on this sort of thing is, if nothing else, consistent, and even if the FAI were to side with the Dublin club, the world body would almost certainly insist that Rule Five, which states that the referee "has full authority to enforce the laws of the game" and "acts as timekeeper" takes precedence and that the result must stand.

Byrne argues that on this occasion a game had not taken place "in accordance with the rules of Association Football" because the 90 minutes were not played. But FIFA's line may well be that once the referee has decided that it's time to blow the whistle, that's good enough for them.

The international body's preference for clean-cut decisions, without any of the protracted problems that appeal mechanisms bring, is understandable, but it must be counterbalanced by better protection against referee error at the games themselves.

Some sort of back up, whether it be greater use of video or more observers in the stand, would benefit the referees themselves. It might, for instance, have resulted in Eddie Gormley's dismissal on Friday night when he was spotted by many people, though not, as it happens, by John McDermott, throwing the ball at the referee.

Finding a workable solution is not easy. In France, in 1979, it was felt that getting former players to become referees would improve standards. But despite a fast-track system to help them get to the top level, not one player volunteered for the scheme in 17 years.

Also, players have been shown in surveys to be more ignorant than they like to think of the finer points of the rules, while others consistently cheat by setting out to deceive the referee.

Journalists, too, are often unfair in their criticism of referees (I am persuaded by an official of the referee's association who was far better placed than myself to see the incident on Friday that Packie Lynch did deserve to be sent off), but as long as incidents like Sunday's, or the one in Dundalk a few weeks ago, when the ball went through a hole in the net and Shamrock Rovers didn't get a goal, continue to occur, it's easier to have sympathy with irate club officials than mistaken men in black.

The President's Cup match between St Patrick's Athletic and Shelbourne, scheduled for Richmond Park last night, was postponed one hour before kick-off due to an unplayable pitch following persistent rain. The fixture will be rearranged shortly.