Irish Examiner view: Racist abuse cannot go unpunished 

The abuse of Lee Chin — born in Wexford and of Malaysian heritage — was truly sickening, and the referee rightly called an end to the charity match after players pointed out to him the nature of the vile comments

The cretin whose racist actions caused the abandonment of a challenge charity match between Wexford and Tipperary in Carrick-on-Suir on Saturday should be referred to the gardaí.

While both the Tipperary and Wexford county boards were swift to condemn the actions of the man who shouted horrendously racist abuse at Wexford star Lee Chin during a minor on-pitch fracas 69 minutes into the game at Páirc na nEalaí, the incident demands further action.

The GAA itself adopted anti-racism rules at Congress only last February, and can now impose a 48-week ban on anyone found to have committed “an act by deed, word or gesture of a racist, sectarian, or anti-inclusion/diversity nature on an opponent or match official”.

A repeat infraction carries a 96-week ban.

The abuse of Chin — born in Wexford and of Malaysian heritage — was truly sickening, and the referee rightly called an end to the charity match after players pointed out to him the nature of the vile comments.

That the game had been organised as a fundraiser by the Carrick Swans club in aid of local man Ryan O’Dwyer, who had suffered life-changing injuries in a car crash last year, made what had happened all the more unpalatable.

This sort of vile racism is something which we as a nation are fighting on a daily basis within a broader spectrum of inviting those fleeing the Ukraine war to our country and also coping with an influx of refugees fleeing other terrors. It has been mirrored by right-wing protests against this influx.

Hate crime is something an egalitarian society cannot accept and the gardaí and authorities can and should make an example of the racist involved in the abuse of Chin.