A minor Gaelic football final in Carlow ended in controversy when the referee opted to blow the final whistle while a player was in the middle of scoring what would have been a game-winning goal.

With the Central U18 Group final deep into stoppage time, Palatine GAA found themselves leading Éire Óg 1-13 to 3-05.

Éire Óg launched an attack in the 62nd minute, with one of their players clipping a dangerous high ball into the large rectangle.

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A teammate won the ball and saw his effort blocked down by a brave Palatine player. With the ball on the ground, an Éire Óg player swivelled soccer style and smashed a shot towards goal.

While the ball was in the air, the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the game. A split-second later, the ball was in the back of the net.

Palatine thought they had lost the game but upon seeing the incredulous reaction towards the referee by Éire Óg, they realised that they had in fact won the game and the cup.

While it is unclear from the video when exactly the referee blew the final whistle, he appears to have done so just after the Éire Óg player made contact with the shot that he thought had won his team the Championship.

After realising that their protests were falling on deaf ears, the Éire Óg players and management crumpled in a heap with the disappointment as Palatine leaped with joy.

The commentators who were covering the live stream of the game were quick to criticise the referee for blowing the whistle too early.

Perhaps surprisingly, the referee's decision has been defended on social media, with plenty believing he was right to blow the whistle after the first effort was blocked despite Éire Óg retaining possession of the ball 13 metres or so from the opposition goal.

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