RGU Downpatrick have released a statement after footage emerged online of a mass brawl during their Down Division 1 Gaelic Football tie against Ballyholland Harps.
The fixture was a rearranged after an initial incident and replayed in Kilcoo. However, footage emerged of a brawl involving spectators that resulted in players from both sides leaving the field of play and partaking in the violence. The issue is a growing one within the GAA as several similar videos transpired recently.
RGU Downpatrick released a statement confirming that the incident was wrong and shouldn't have occurred: "We acknowledge that such behaviour has no place in our games."
There was a widespread reaction to the footage on social media. Speaking to Balls.ie on Monday, Mayo star Aidan O'Shea called for more internal crackdowns.
A few people were complaining that it was being shared but if there's an underlying issue there, we need to crack down on it. I'm not condemning the teams involved, I don't know the circumstances of what happened.
I just think that we need to be a little bit stronger on some of the discipline. It wouldn't happen in rugby, which some would say is a much more physical sport where there could be more chance of something like that happening.
It seems to be a lot more violent in our game. If we saw it in a soccer match or saw hooliganism outside a soccer match, we'd be complaining about it.
Maybe we need to look internally and enforce the rules a bit better. There needs to be more discipline around that kind of stuff.
