GAA OFFICIALS in Connacht are to investigate violent scenes at the end of a club final after a referee and his officials were accosted by angry supporters.
Fourteen yellow cards were handed out during the Connacht club senior football championship final in Roscommon.
Tempers were never far below the surface during the game and afterwards many of the crowd of about 3,500 spilled onto the pitch.
Mayo referee Liam Devenney and his officials were confronted by furious supporters at the end of a tight contest which saw St Brigids from Roscommon retain their title with an 0-11 to 0-10 win over Galway’s Corofin at Kiltoom.
One of the umpires is believed to have been struck in the face.
The Galway champions were furious with the referee after having a goal disallowed in the opening half and over a number of other decisions.
The game itself was keenly contested but was not particularly fractious, despite the referee dishing out 14 yellow cards – eight to Corofin.
St Brigids were awarded 29 frees to Corofin’s 16 during the game, with the Roscommon side coming from behind in the second half to edge their rivals out.
A spokesman for the Connacht Council said that they would wait for the referee’s report and take whatever action was necessary.
Corofin captain Kieran Fitzgerald was scathing about match referee Devenney.
“Disappointment is an understatement . . .” he said. “All you want is fair play and I know this sounds like sour grapes but I was bitterly disappointed in the referee today.
“Fair play to Brigids, they won and they are in the quarter-final in two weeks’ time and as a Connacht team, I hope they go all the way.
“But when you are playing a game at this level and you put in so much work, at the end of the day you would like a bit of fair play.
“I feel myself, as captain of Corofin, that we did not get it,” he said.
St Brigids manager Noel O’Brien said he did not see the controversial incidents.
“I was with TG4 down the other end. I am not avoiding the issue. I didn’t see anything. I don’t like it. They have a difficult job to do and a thankless job.
“Maybe they do feel hard done by, but there is nothing we can do but take whatever chances are given by the referee and move on,” he said.