Armagh footballer Aaron Kernan has added his voice to the growing number of people concerned by recent upsurge of violence in the GAA.
A series of ugly incidents have taken place in club games across Ireland in recent weeks, with footage of mass brawls being captured on mobile phone cameras.
The latest such incident came at the weekend with a Dingle official caught on video punching an East Kerry player in the Kerry SFC semi-final replay.
An eight-week ban was proposed for that Dingle official, while video footage showed a number of players left lying on the pitch after the incident.
Kernan has called on GAA players and officials to set a better example and warned that action needs to be taken before someone is seriously injured or killed.
"I didn’t think that it was happening as frequently as it seems to be popping up now. It’s nationwide and I’ve seen footage from Kerry and Cork," the Crossmaglen clubman told the BBC.
"To be honest with you they’re not good to look at and I know sometimes we try and brush it off and blame other people but to be fair, as players, we really do need to start taking responsibility.
"We’re all to blame, this isn’t one province issue, one county issue, one club issue, it’s happening nationwide and the fact that so many mobile phones are at games, it is going to go viral.
"The reality is that it could happen and I don't think we need to wait until there is a fatality on a playing field or in the stands," added Kernan.
