Volunteerism - GAA must draw a line in the sand

THE GAA is beginning to earn an unenviable record because of attacks on its match officials.

The organisation must, and there is no reason to imagine that it will not, nip this nasty, unacceptable — and illegal — behaviour in the bud.

Sunday’s brutal attack in Tyrone, in which the referee and a senior official were left unconscious at the end of a ladies’ football match, is just the latest in a series of utterly unacceptable assaults which do untold harm to the image of Ireland’s most popular sporting organisation. It also reflects poorly on wider society, where unacceptable aggression has become almost commonplace.