We don't see this in other sports.
Do we mean we don't say it often in the game of football
or in a game of rugby or any other team sports?
Why, just the GAA.
We're talking about eye-gouging or stamping or dangerous head collisions, Ciara.
I'm not so sure I don't see these in other games, so I'm not.
I'm not getting into what about every year, You know, it was
a very unsightly incident that happened at the weekend.
I would take exception to the idea that people enjoyed it.
I started watching it with my kids.
It was in Centre Parks for the weekend, thrilling game.
I was disgusted watching.
I was very uncomfortable watching it, and I would say that was the general sense
of the GAA population watching it, you know, I played for 20 years.
I've seen how the game has changed from when I started playing what it is now.
Yes, this was a box office.
This is prime time and that's why we're discussing about it here tonight.
But as someone who is involved in coaching and go into games every weekend, there's
hundreds thousands of games played at all levels every weekend in the GAA because
you're talking about the GAA as an organisation has a disciplinary problem.
Okay, we had a very, very poor
incident at the weekend.
But that is the exception.
The gross exception, not the norm.
So deal with the incident and it was wrong on so many.
You don't but just be clear, you You disagree that there is a wider issue with
violence and this kind of behaviour in G eight matches violence to use the word
violence care as as the GAA has an issue with violence in its sport?
Absolutely.
Do situations like this happen?
They do, and they do happen in every sport.
They might get discussed on primetime news talk shows on a Monday night.
But the GAA, as the country's largest and most popular
organisation, has to be held to a higher standard.
And that's why we're talking with the GAA tonight.
We don't talk about what happens in other codes in this country because they're
not discussed at a higher level, and that's that's a good thing for the GAA,
So we have to take what's coming to us and deal with the incident, but again to
use the word of violence and that GAA people and onlookers enjoyed.
I'd be disappointed for anybody that enjoyed watching what happened at the weekend.
That's everyone up to the preference.
I certainly didn't, and I doubt very many people did.
I think first of all, it doesn't happen in soccer and rugby
in the same way that it does in GAA and Dick is right
It doesn't have every weekend, but it does happen every
season and I think it would and it happens a lot.
This obviously was on television.
There was a huge audience.
It happens up and down the country.
I think it is different in this scenario in rugby and soccer, you just don't see the
same level of this sort of thing and what I mean by people enjoying it all.
You play back, listen to the sound of the crowd on the television
and the voices rised rising as soon as that started.
And I think a lot of people like Dicks, right.
If he's sitting there watching with his kids, obviously it's
uncomfortable and that's not what you want your kids to.
But I can tell you there was an awful lot of people who were sitting
up and down the country watching that match yesterday, and they sat
up when their chair when the fight started and and the pulse started
racing Minister of Youth doesn't mean we enjoyed it.
Kevin Um, do you think there is sort of a natural culture within the GAA
That maybe tolerates or encourages?
As Kevin says, I know Dick, you disagree, but that
tolerates or encourages this at times.
Well, I would say just the reaction of people that
were watching the match I think was discussed.
I think that's what we're.
If you look at the reaction online and people I've spoken
to today, it's a widespread disgust of what happened.
I don't think people in any way enjoyed it.
I think we need to be clear about that.
I look what I see in the GAA as in actually a number of GAA clubs today and
Roscommon and, uh and saw kids in my own community going out playing many
leagues like the GAA what it represents within communities about volunteerism,
participation community and as Dick said, there are thousands of matches
that happen that are all about participation.
Where There.
You know, there's handshakes after and there isn't,
uh, you know what we saw at the weekend?
But I think as Dick said, we we need to hold.
It's our national game.
There needs to be a high standard.
Players are role models and where violence occurs, we need
to speak about it and we need to stamp it out.
And there has to be proper follow through and disciplinary action on those
who on those who who who have any act of violence in the G eight because it
sends the wrong signal to people who are playing and participating.
I suppose on the flip side of that, when I talk about soccer and rugby,
you have to remember that all the fans from the four counties who are
in Croke Park yesterday are all mixed in 11 among one another.
They're everywhere and that is the essence of the G A that there isn't big fights
and the fans or anything like that tension you see often in soccer games.
Premier League International soccer game, where fans are putting
their boxes effectively kept away from other fans.
But then you see that on the pitch, so I think that's where the imbalances.
So you're right.
The GAA is everything that's great and it's people mixing, and we're all on
the on the same road and want the same thing, which is a good match.
But I think I think that's where that's where disciplinary
action, I think, Yeah, we have just been interested.
Sorry to cut across the minister because it just be interested to hear lame
your opinion on this because I was reading a piece in The Irish Times.
I think Kevin McStay, the former player, had written, I think, was last year.
And basically, what he said is, you know, the glorification of the hard man in GAA
is a bit of a problem.
Would you agree it's a problem If it happens, it doesn't always happen.
I mean, the different system and I spoke, and it's a good place when I was
out on It's there to protect the decent, ordinary, skillful player.
Now, sometimes people speak of discipline.
To say it's being hard on players.
It's not.
It's to protect the good, skillful player who has trained hard and
wants to show his or her skill and that's what we're about.
We want them to do that.
We want to protect, to protect the player and we need to improve our behaviour.
I think players have to take responsibility.
It's now quite common when people can come onto the field to just your
opponent immediately and start the confrontation with him.
I remember a time when people come out to the field and shook hands with their
opponents and sometimes under substituted turned around shook hands.
I don't know where we lost that status in society or in our organisation.
I think it's more so on society.
But there's a problem then when that happens, you know a player substituted on it comes
over and gives the shoulder gives the Elbert ever into the back of the dig.
We all see it.
We possibly don't bad night.
Look at it anymore.
That that should be pulled up on that needs to be stopped.
Is that the referee's job?
Absolutely there.
As I said, the start of this there is no acceptable
level of violence or misbehaviour.
Anybody comes onto the field and justice, somebody should
get a yellow card straight away, absolutely.
Discipline needs to be applied on the spot.
There's no need for investigations after that happens.
The player knows when he sees the yellow card.
He's in trouble.
Dick, Your response.
I'm very uncomfortable with the word violence been thrown
about here in terms of giving the d like.
And this is where things that the conversation sort of lose the run of itself.
Um, we're here talking about because it was around a brawl,
a fight at the end of normal time yesterday.
That's what happened.
And now we're talking about violence at large in the G.
Yeah, like what?
We're talking about culture.
We're talking about a culture.
We're talking about behaviours on the pitch that perhaps lead to those.
I'll tell you about culture.
Okay, I'll tell you about culture, and we haven't talked about it.
We have a quote from the gear that despite all the alleged violence
that we have, fans can go and mix in the most tense, hostile potentially
atmospheres and shake hands walking out there.
That's culture.
We are players that despite all the alleged violence that we have in
the Games, will swap jerseys, shake hands and share a point.
That's culture.
That's what happens, That's the reality.
That's the game I've played.
That's the game that's been played today and that despite the incident
that happened after the game, that's what happened after the game.
All those players I can guarantee.
You shook hands and walked off knowing what happened, and they
equally know what happened after normal time was wrong.