Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue has encouraged GAA players to take legal action if they are the victims of violent acts on the field of play.
Speaking to the Sunday Tribune the Minister said: 'People who are on the end of serious incidents can't let people get away with it. If there is some injury done, and there are severe circumstances, the GAA should encourage its players to take action via the courts, and people should be punished.'
He went on to state his belief that increased legal action would lead to less violence during games. The comments come in the aftermath of violent scenes in the Ulster Intermediate Football match between Ballymacnab and Stewartstown last weekend.
Meanwhile GAA President Nickey Brennan, at the National Coaching Conference in Croke Park on Saturday, spoke against the recent violence appearing in games.
He said: 'We need to get rid of that aspect of our games. Parents and children are influenced by what they see on television or hear reported and we’ve seen people fighting and going crazy on the field. Some of the players coming out are wired to the moon.'
Brennan went on to praise the tough punishments handed out by the association's disciplinary committee recently, including expelling a Palatine club member from the GAA for an assault on referee Pat Fox.
He said: 'For the boards and officials who have to deal with this, I want them to come down in the hardest possible manner on those who are transgressing the rules and I applaud those who have handed out major penalties.'
