Wexford referees chairman welcomes sentencing of club mentor for assault
Struck Piaras At He The The Whistle Was File Picture: Referee The Match, Of From Blew The Mídheach/sportsfile End Behind ó When
Sentencing of a GAA mentor to six months in prison for an assault on a referee at the end of a county junior football championship game in Wexford has been welcomed by the Chairman of the county's GAA Referees' committee, Seamus Whelan, who claims the "right signals have been sent out".
Following the imposition of the sentence on Glen McManus at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court, Mr Whelan said the decision "has prompted hopes that referees will be afforded greater safety into the future".
Mr Whelan also said that he supported a suggestion from a former President of the GAA, Liam O'Neill, that referees might have to wear body-cams to gather evidence.
He said: "It's something I hadn't thought about and something that hadn't been discussed, but having heard the suggestion, I think it could be looked at."
"It will send out the right signals and the referees that I spoke to were happy, they feel more protected going forward.
He said a proactive approach was taken by the Wexford County Board in the wake of the incident last September.
"They brought all the referees together and the management team and they all met up as a unit and came up with proposals," adding "that there had been some high-profile incidents across the country".
"Generally we all know from the various news outlets that there are serious problems with referees, maybe not being assaulted, but abused and their pedigree and family background being brought into question," he said.
"Hopefully this came now, will help push that to one side," he added.
Mr Whelan said it will also help recruitment of referees throughout the country.
He said the seriousness of the Wexford incident last September was a "once off" and anyone thinking of becoming a referee should have "no fear".
Wexford had eighteen new referees starting this year.
A full investigation was also carried out by the Wexford Competitions Control Committee following receipt of the report into the incident.
Last October Wexford GAA came down heavily on the club mentor, handing him the maximum suspension along with a ban from attending games on his home pitch.
The committee imposed a 96-week ban on the St. Joseph's mentor, while the club who had earlier imposed an indefinite ban while awaiting the outcome of the hearing, was also hit with a €1000 fine.
Glen McManus, 34, of Cluain Dara, Clonard, Wexford town, pleaded guilty before the court to assaulting Michael Lanigan, causing him harm, and received an 18-month prison sentence with twelve months of that term suspended.
He also pleaded guilty to assaulting umpire Edward Harding, and this offence was taken into consideration by Judge James McCourt.
The incident occurred at a junior football championship game between the defendant's club, St Joseph's and Our Lady's Island, played at the St Joseph's pitch on Whiterock Hill, Wexford town, on September 25 last year.
After the match, Referee Michael Lanigan was punched on the back of the head from behind, while umpire Edward Harding was also pushed by the same defendant.
Wexford Circuit Court viewed video footage of the assault.
"People must understand that voluntary referees and their assistants need to be protected from this kind of thuggery," declared Judge James McCourt after watching the footage.
An offer of €2500 compensation for referee, Michael Lanigan, who was left with a neck injury, was accepted by the court.
St. Joseph's also took disciplinary action against McManus, manager of the junior football team, excluding him from all involvement in the club for two years.
A garda officer attended the scene of the assault and told of Lanigan saying "he had been struck on the back of the head and neck with force. He was offered the services of an ambulance but opted to go to Wexford General Hospital independently."
The referee also spoke of finding walking painful and reckoned that he had been rendered semi-conscious by his attacker. The assault caused him to miss four weeks off work as the pain continued.
He was treated with painkillers and anti-inflammatories for what was described to the judge as a whiplash-style injury.
Lanigan also experienced emotional distress and he did not referee again until March of this year, when he made himself available to take charge of women's fixtures.
Defence Counsel Jordan Fletcher confirmed that his client is no longer manager of the junior football team and is no longer involved in St Joseph's club in any capacity.
He said a sum of €3000 was in court, €500 for the umpire, with the balance for the referee in recognition of earnings lost as a result of his injury.
Mr. Fletcher said the defendant is a self-employed blocklayer with one employee, adding, that he's a man with no previous convictions, while the GAA was his life, but he let himself down, and let his team down by attacking a match official.
The court acknowledged that apologies had been offered and this was completely out of character for him.
Judge McCourt said that as manager McManus was expected to lead by example but the moment of madness seen on the video was not leading by example. He said that his actions on the field of play merited a jail sentence and despite his previous clean record it was not appropriate to suspend the full term.