No place in the game for this.
Paul O’Brien, President of the Irish Soccer Referees Society, has spoken out about the attack on referee Daniel Sweeney on Sunday.
Speaking on Today with Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio 1, Paul O’Brien said he met with FAI CEO John Delaney over the incident.
O’Brien said they’ve agreed that stronger sanctions will be put in place to stamp out this behaviour and “the more serious the assault, the stronger the sanction”.
In terms of the assault last weekend, O’Brien said it’s “the worst assault I’ve seen”, saying that these are not the norm and discussed the possibility of a lifetime ban for those involved in the assault on Sweeney.
Sweeney was refereeing a game between Horseleap FC and Mullingar Town FC at the weekend when an altercation occurred at the end of the match, with both players and spectators involved.
He was left with serious facial injuries, including a broken jaw following the incident and underwent a five-hour surgery on Thursday to repair the damage.
It’s expected he will have a six to eight week recovery time.
On RTÉ news, Sweeney thanked the public for their support in the aftermath of the attack and praised the medical staff for their care and attention.
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