Calls for GAA to act after 'unacceptable' assault on referee
Referee Barry Tiernan was pushed to the ground during a clash between Tullamore and Summerhill.
The Government and Sport Ireland have condemned the latest incident of an attempted assault on a GAA referee.
Sunday's clash between Tullamore of Offaly and Summerhill of Meath in round one of the Leinster Club Championship saw the latter run out as two-point victors.
Late in the game, referee Barry Tiernan awarded a penalty to Tullamore, only to reverse his decision after a lengthy discussion with his linesman.
After the full-time whistle, a number of people ran onto the field — one of whom appeared to shove Mr Tiernan in the back, causing him to fall to the ground.
Gaelic games and soccer matches have seen a number of unsavoury incidents involving assaults on officials in the last three years.
The latest incident at the weekend has been widely condemned, with chairman of Offaly GAA Michael Duignan describing it as "disgraceful."
A spokesperson for the Department of Sport said: "Any form of abuse, discrimination or inappropriate behaviour towards anyone involved in sport is absolutely unacceptable. Referees, and all other officials, and players, deserve to be respected for the important role they play in sport."
In May, Minister of State at the department, Thomas Byrne, convened a meeting with the leaders of the FAI, GAA and IRFU, along with the chief executive of Sport Ireland, for a discussion on how best to tackle violence and racism in sport.
That led to the publication of a new code of conduct in August.
However, that was only intended as a template for organisations and clubs around the country which did not already have the framework in place. The GAA does not fall under that category.
Earlier this month, both Minister Catherine Martin and Minister Byrne wrote to all national governing bodies in Ireland, outlining their desire for them to use the national template Code of Conduct as an opportunity to "review their existing policies and procedures for handling code breaches" and to "adopt and implement a rigorous system which ensures we have a safe and respectful environment for all involved in Irish sport."
Sport Ireland has also condemned the latest incident from last weekend, saying it is "unequivocal in its stance against abuse, discrimination and inappropriate behaviour at all levels of sport".
Back in February, the GAA voted to raise its maximum suspension for assaulting a match official to 96 weeks — which would double to 192 weeks for a repeat offender.
The minimum suspension a member of the association can receive for assaulting an official is 12 weeks.
On multiple occasions in the last 12 months, club referees have threatened to go on strike due to abuse and threats they have received.
In April, a Kilkenny referee told the Irish Examiner how he had received an anonymous, handwritten correspondence from a supporter after a U17 minor hurling game in which a person had wrote: "May you die roaring with cancer".
Speaking about the latest incident, Mr Duignan said: "I saw it myself and I can't deny it, a disgraceful incident.
"There was a bit of controversy at the end where the referee awarded a penalty and then it was overruled and obviously the players were frustrated and they were remonstrating.
"But somebody came in from the terrace then and pushed the referee from behind so it was terrible. It's a very, very tough job and I would have had my arguments over the years with refs but you wouldn't dream about laying a finger on a referee."
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