New sanctions to come into place for attacks on referees

Tougher sanctions are set to come into operation for assaults on referees following a meeting between FAI officials and the Irish Soccer Referees Society in the wake of the vicious attack on referee Daniel Sweeney last week.

Sweeney was left with a broken jaw and a fractured eye socket after being attacked during a match between Horseleap United and Mullingar Town in Horseleap on Sunday.

FAI chief executive John Delaney was also in attendance at the meeting on Wednesday night which decided that there will be a new tiered level of sanctions, depending on the severity of assaults, ISRS Paul O’Brien told the Sean O’Rourke Show on RTÉ.

Currently anyone who assaults a referee gets a minimum of a one-year ban but now, under the new proposals, an attack of the like carried out on Sweeney will result in a lifetime ban.

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It is hoped that the new rules can be implemented in January with a new working group currently looking at the proposals.

Sweeney underwent five hours of surgery on Wednesday in which he received “four or five” plates in his jaw and will now go through an eight-week recovery period.