Crowd trouble ‘an exception’, insist Munster GAA chiefs
A crowd incident — which was filmed and widely circulated on social media — at last Sunday’s Munster SHC clash between Tipperary and Waterford led to two arrests, but the Munster Council has stressed that such incidents are an exception.
Yesterday, sources in the council pointed out that “out of hundreds of thousands of people who have attended matches in recent years, perhaps 10 people have been taken out of stadiums for misbehaviour, and half of those would have been for lighting flares, rather than fighting.
“What happened last Sunday is not in character with the crowds you get at GAA games, and the fact that this incident is so newsworthy proves that.
Having said that, we can’t be complacent; we want people to enjoy the games and to feel safe at them.
“The stewards and gardaí were on the scene fast last Sunday and handled it well, but we don’t want to see a repeat of that.”
A garda statement issued after the incident said: “Gardaí in Thurles, who were working at the match in Semple Stadium, attended an incident in the stand during the game on Sunday afternoon, May 19, 2019 at approximately 3.15pm.
“Two men (one juvenile and one in his 20s) were arrested and removed from the stand and taken to Thurles GS, in relation to the incident. The men have since been released and investigations are ongoing.”
Anthony Daly, Ger Cunningham and TJ Ryan review the weekend's hurling.
