Gardai are looking into a alleged assault of an under-9 player during a hurling blitz at Dr Morris Park this weekend
Sport

Gardai are looking into a alleged assault of an under-9 player during a hurling blitz at Dr Morris Park this weekend

Gardai and the Munster Council are looking into an incident involving a man and the assault of Under-9 player during a hurling blitz at Dr Morris Park beside Semple Stadium on Saturday morning. 

The child was allegedly grabbed by the throat by a man during a hurling game on Saturday, October 15th. 

Gardai in Thurles were contacted shortly after and enquires are ongoing. 

According to The Mirror, a source said: " The allegation is that the man walked onto the pitch during a game, confronted a nine-year-old and grabbed him by the throat. 

'We have established that the boy’s horrified mother witnessed the alleged incident in Thurles — and then called the gardai" 



 

There had been no arrests made as of Monday, but according to the same publication stated that as part of the investigation a man presented himself to Thurles Garda Station on Saturday evening. 

This all comes after a series of incidents in the GAA. In Roscommon, a referee working at a minor match was assaulted in August, taken to hospital, but recovered. The person in question was given a 96-week suspension. 

In Wexford in a game last month, another referee was also assaulted during a game between St Joseph's and Our Lady's Island on September 25. The person responsible was also given a 96-week suspension and restricted him from attending games at St Joseph's home pitch. 

On Thursday, the GAA launched a 'Respect the Referee' weekend due to take place at senior county finals across the country next weekend.