GAA must lay down law

Meath’s Mark Ward has called on the GAA to adopt a zero tolerance approach against spectators found to have assaulted players after incidents in club games in Limerick and Cavan this weekend.

The midfielder himself was struck by a Louth supporter on the Croke Park pitch following Meath’s controversial 2010 Leinster final win over their neighbours.

As the Limerick County Board moved to condemn the actions of the Drom-Broadford supporter in his altercation with Newcastle West player James Kelly and in the same weekend a Leeds United fan was imprisoned for assaulting Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, Ward said the GAA have to lay down the law.

“Luckily enough, it doesn’t happen that often in the GAA but when you hear of one thing after another you have to ask is it going to increase,” he said.

“It would be no harm to make an example of somebody and send a message out that it can’t start happening.

“Players are in a difficult situation because if they retaliate they are in trouble themselves. These people coming onto the pitch are not just assaulting, they’re aggravating as well.”

Ward was contacted by Gardaí six months following the incident and asked whether he would like to press charges but he declined.

“I didn’t expect it at the time and I didn’t see who hit me. By the time I looked around, he had run off which was good, I suppose, because it avoided the situation of retaliation.”

Limerick chairman Liam Lenihan yesterday reacted to Sunday’s incident in the Gaelic Grounds. “Any unsavoury incident is not acceptable to the GAA. I was obviously at the match, I didn’t see the incident because I was following the ball.

“But the procedure is when the referee’s report comes in, the county’s competitions control committee will make a call.”

In Sunday’s Ulster club SFC first round game in Kingspan Breffni Park, an Errigal Ciarán supporter arrested by Garda after he threw a bin at a group of Mullahoran players at half-time is believed to have been released with a caution.

The man was detained and brought to the local station in Cavan town where he was questioned.

However, it remains to be seen whether the GAA will take action against the 38-year-old man.

“From an official point of view, it’s something that nobody can condone,” said Cavan PRO Declan Woods. “Anyone who listened to Brian Carthy’s Championship programme on RTÉ Radio One after the first All-Ireland hurling final would have heard the German sportswriter marvel about how two sets of supporters could watch a contact game together in harmony.

“We take that for granted but when you hear about how he couldn’t understand how good we are at it you realise that it is special. There’s no place for what happened on Sunday in our games and no justification for it.”

Meanwhile, Munster grounds and safety workgroup chairman Donal Fitzgibbon has called for the GAA to enforce inter-county sideline protocol for top club fixtures.

“The GAA must limit the number of people on the sideline. Substitutes should be seated in the stand. The standards at county level should be matched at club level, certainly for county semi-final and finals.

“I was at a game on Saturday when there were 30 people on the sideline between mentors, officials and players. The people behind them couldn’t see the game, for one.

“In my opinion, it should only be the team manager and maybe the doctor and a couple of others. Limit it to three or four, maximum.”

Elsewhere, Kilmacud Crokes manager Hugh Kenny has slammed the Dublin County Board’s decision to stage their senior club final against Ballymun Kickhams for next Monday night at 7.45.

“I’m very disappointed about that, and I know the whole of the Kilmacud club is too. To have the county final on a Monday night at 7.45, even though it is a Bank Holiday, is an absolute and total disgrace.

“It doesn’t do anything for the promotion of GAA. And I have plenty of experience in that regard because I’m a full-time coach in Wicklow.”