A man has appeared in court in Co Mayo charged in connection with an incident at an underage soccer match.
As reported by the Western People, Tom Blake (66), of Barr na Haille, Claremorris, appeared before Ballina District Court where he pleaded guilty to producing an article and engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour in Foxford on August 17th, 2022.
The court the incident took place at an under-14 fixture between Straide & Foxford United and Castlebar Celtic, during which Blake confronted referee Michael McCay.
Garda Sergeant Conor McShane told Judge Fiona Lydon that Blake verbally abused Mr McCay and continued to verbally abuse the referee when he went to the car park.
Sgt McShane said Mr McCay approached Blake's vehicle to note the registration number, and Blake "went to the rear door of the vehicle and pulled out what [Mr McCay] believed to be a wrench".
The referee left the scene and reported the incident at Ballina Garda station, the court heard.
The case was adjourned to January 12th as the court was informed that Mr McCay wishes to make a victim impact statement.
Headbutt
A separate case concerning an incident at an underage sporting fixture was before Porlaoise District Court, in which a mentor and player were charged with the assault of a referee at a minor football game in Co Laois.
Evin Bennett (53) and a player, who was under 17 at the time of the incident and cannot be named due to his age, were found guilty of assaulting referee Michael Tarpey at a league game between Portarlington and Stradbally on May 30th, 2022.
As reported by the Laois Nationalist, the court heard Bennett headbutted the referee shortly before the end of the match, and the Portarlington player punched Mr Tarpey in the subsequent melee.
The paper reports that the incident broke out after a Portlarington player was black carded, but returned to the pitch before being instructed to do so by the referee, resulting in a yellow card which was upgraded to red on account of the earlier black card.
Bennett said he initially approached the referee because he was worried about how the player might react, but added that he continued towards Mr Tarpey hoping to "change the referee's mind" or "influence his report".
In his statements to gardaí following the incident, Bennett claimed he had been struck twice by the referee during the incident. Under cross-examination by his own counsel in court, he alleged he had been struck "at least" six times.
Commenting that the incident would never have happened had Bennett "observed the GAA's rule about not entering the pitch", Judge Nicola Andrews adjourned sentencing pending the completion of a report by the Probation Service.
The incidents come amid rising concern over the safety of match officials across various sports. Footage shared online of incidents at games in recent years have drawn widespread condemnation and prompted calls for more robust punishments for those who engage in violent or abusive behaviour at sporting events.
The issue has also come to the fore internationally, most recently when a soccer executive in Turkey punched a referee on the pitch.
The president of top-tier Turkish club Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca, was arrested on Tuesday for punching a referee in the face at the end of the club's home game against Rizespor on Monday evening.
The incident, during which referee Halil Umut Meler was also kicked while lying on the pitch, was condemned by Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who said: "Without match officials there is no football."
