'No complaint' made to gardaí about alleged assault and robbery of NFL player in Dublin

Skylar Thompson was allegedly assaulted in Dublin over the weekend. File picture: Joe Sargent/Getty Images

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said there have been no reports made to gardaí regarding an alleged assault on an NFL player in Dublin last weekend.

The NFL's website reported Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Skylar Thompson "was jumped and robbed Friday night" in the capital.

It came ahead of the NFL's first-ever game in Dublin, which saw the Steelers beat the Minnesota Vikings .

Mr Thompson is currently on the injured reserve list and was not scheduled to take the field on Sunday.

However, Mr O’Callaghan said he was unsure if this alleged incident was comparable to other assaults on tourists.

“No complaint has been made to An Garda Síochána in respect of that alleged criminal offence,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“It's been referred to as an incident. I'm not aware that it's been reported to An Garda Síochána.

“If somebody has been the subject of an attack or an assault or a theft in the city centre, they must report it to An Garda Síochána.

“I know that the gardaí are aware of this. There's further information in respect of it.

But it's just, I'm not absolutely certain that this is the type of attack on tourists that we've had to engage in and to respond to previously.

NFL Network Insider reporter Tom Pelissero said over the weekend the player "suffered minor injuries but is OK and with the team".

A Steelers spokesman told the journalist: “We are aware of a situation involving Skylar Thompson on Friday night in Dublin.

"We will have no further comment at this time as we are working with NFL security to gather more information regarding the incident.” 

A Garda spokesperson confirmed to the Irish Examiner  no complaint had been made and they had no evidence that a robbery had taken place.

"Gardaí from Pearse Street on patrol on Dame Street in the early hours of Saturday morning 27th September 2025 encountered a male who required medical assistance," they said.

"The male in his 20s was treated and assessed at the scene by emergency services personnel. No formal complaint has been made by any person at this time.

"Following preliminary inquiries, An Garda Síochána has no further information to substantiate, or not, any report this incident involved a robbery.

"An Garda Síochána has no further comment at this time."

Social Democrats’ spokesman Gary Gannon told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland there had been a “trend” in attacks in Dublin.

“Every week we hear different incidents, assaults on the quays, people stabbed in the city.” 

When asked about Mr Gannon’s remarks, Mr O’Callaghan said Dublin has a population of 1.3 million people and that at “any time, there's going to be 250,000 people in Dublin City”.

He continued: “It's a large international capital city. We're always going to have incidents there. The important thing is that, as minister for justice and the government, is that we try to make it as safe as possible for people who are using Dublin City.

“It happens in every city. Perhaps we just pay too much attention and give a lot of attention to it.

“When somebody is attacked and is attacked in Dublin, it's a very unpleasant experience for somebody who is subjected to an assault or an attack, but the gardaí will respond to it.

“I believe that Dublin is getting safer through the increased visibility of gardaí there.”