Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I got all the opening statements but I had to leave the meeting for a while, so I apologise in advance for any repetition or any questions that have been already asked.

This is an important session to highlight the abuse, mainly of referees, but also of players and management across the board in terms of abusive language, etc., in sport. What was highlighted in the opening statements is incredibly stark and worrying. This is an issue that we definitely have brushed under the carpet and, maybe, had a blasé attitude to as something that is part of sport and that we need to get on with it and over it. It has to be remembered that these are individuals and they have lives and feelings too. I am glad we are having this session and, hopefully, highlighting this and making people think twice about it.

We have all seen this happening. Anybody who has attended a sports game from local to international club level will have heard the shocking and abusive language levelled in the main at referees. We have also witnessed the intimidation, with families being brought into much of the abuse that is being levelled. Management are not free from this abuse either. Where a wrong substitution is made, a certain section of the crowd will respond and call the person responsible for it everything under the sun. It is not good enough and we need to clean this up, not just for referees but for players and management as well. I respect that this discussion is mainly about referees. I have seen some of the disgusting hand gestures being made towards referees, the name calling and the physical intimidation after a game where referees sometimes have to run a gauntlet of really angry disrespectful individuals. We have all seen this. It has been part of the furniture for so long, we have turned a blind eye to it. We cannot do that anymore. In that regard, this engagement is really important.

I have two questions, on which, with the permission of the Chair, I would like to engage in a questions and answers session. If possible, can the witnesses give examples of the worst cases of abuse, intimidation and assaults of which they are aware and can highlight? I would welcome two or three examples such that people can understand what referees have to encounter.