Leinster council await referees report after unsavoury scenes at minor match


LEINSTER Council officials are awaiting the referee’s report from last Wednesday’s stormy Electric Ireland Minor Football Championship match between Offaly and Kildare before deciding whether an investigation will follow.

The end of the second round qualifier match, played in O’Connor Park, Tullamore, was marred by unsavoury scenes as players, substitutes, mentors and supporters got involved in a fracas. Some media outlets have since reported that players were punched, head-butted and even bitten during the post-match brawl.

It is thought the Leinster Council will investigate the matter in the near future but when contacted by the Offaly Independent today (Friday) a spokesperson for the provincial body said the Leinster Council are awaiting the report of referee Stephen Johnson (Louth), and that no further comment would be made until after that has been received.

According to Offaly Independent reporter Kevin Egan, who attended the game, supporters, substitutes and mentors from both sides spilled onto the field immediately after referee Johnson blew the final whistle, with the Faithful County losing the match, 0-13 to 0-14, to end their involvement in this year’s Championship.

“What followed was an unsavoury series of scuffles and altercations, with clashes between players and fans breaking out. A Leinster Council investigation is almost certain to follow,” Egan wrote in his match report on the game in today’s Offaly Independent newspaper.

Egan added that while the match itself had been competitive, it was hitherto uncontroversial before it “broke down into chaos” at the final whistle.

Meanwhile, the launch of Offaly GAA’s proposed Centre of Excellence will take place in the Kilcormac/Killoughey GAA Centre next Thursday, May 14 at 7pm. The event will see the transfer of the lease on a 21-acre site close to Kilcormac from Offaly County Council to Offaly GAA.

It is proposed that the training facility will boast four playing pitches, dressing rooms, meeting rooms and a running track, as well as floodlighting and indoor training facilities. It has previously been said that Croke Park is expected to provide 80 per cent of the funding for the development, which is awaiting planning approval. Members of the public will be able to view the plans for the proposed development at next Thursday’s launch.