No arrests were made in connection with the events at the final whistle of Sunday’s Leinster football final at Croke Park, the Garda Siochana has confirmed.
Referee Martin Sludden (pictured above, with Louth manager Peter Fitzpatrick trying to shield him) was shunted and elbowed by out-of-control Louth supporters following the most controversial conclusion imaginable.
Trailing by one point and going in search of an equalising score, Meath won the title – their first in nine years – with the last kick of the game.
Except it wasn’t a kick. Joe Sheridan, the player credited with the winning strike, fumbled the ball over the goal-line after Seamus Kenny’s goal-bound effort was heroically blocked by Louth captain Paddy Keenan.
For Louth supporters who’ve been starved of success, it marked a horrifying end to the county’s first Leinster final appearance since 1960.
Worse was to come, however, with several fans caught on camera attacking Tyrone official Sludden as he attempted to make his way off the field.
The security arrangements for the game have been called into question, with just two members of the Garda Siochana seen to attend Sludden on his perilous route to the safety of the dressing-rooms.
However, the Garda Press Office confirmed that no arrests were made in connection with the disgraceful scenes at the end of the game.
“There are always arrests at major events but there were no arrests in relation to the scenes you saw on your television screens,†said a Garda spokesman.
When questioned about the security arrangements at Croke Park on Sunday, and whether – as some observers have suggested – there was a lesser Garda presence at the venue than for games involving Dublin, the spokesman was resolute.
“That’s nonsense. There’s a standard policing plan for major events like the Leinster final. We’re doing this every Sunday.â€
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