Labour is calling for a campaign to protect our refs, linesmen and umpires after another case of horrific abuse against a match official saw a game called off in Dublin over the weekend.
The party’s sports spokesman, Mark Wall, wants to see what he is terming ‘Silence on the Sidelines’ to encourage respect for the volunteers, nearly always unpaid, who run games.
The incident at the weekend saw an umpire attacked by two men and left bleeding from the head while officiating at a game at Seán Moore park, beside Sandymount Strand in Dublin 4.
