Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne yesterday (May 9) met with representatives from the FAI, IRFU, GAA, and Sport Ireland to discuss the prevention of racist and violent incidents in sport.
The meeting came after a number of disgraceful high-profile incidents, especially involving the harassment of referees, one of whom — for an U17 minor hurling game — recently received an anonymous letter to his home address that threatened him and his family.
Today I convened a meeting at @DeptCulturelRL with leading sport executives on tackling racism and violence in sport.
As a sporting community, we are all agreed on a zero tolerance approach to racism and violence in sport.
We will continue to work together in this regard. pic.twitter.com/4Fr3Bb7PW9
— Thomas Byrne (@ThomasByrneTD) May 9, 2023
Minister Byrne explained one measure to be taken:
“I have asked Sport Ireland to prioritise the development of a national Code of Conduct template for use across Irish sport and this template is expected to be ready by the end of May and will be circulated to all National Governing Bodies of Sport.”
Byrne also thanked the GAA, FAI, and IRFU for their input.
“As a sporting community, we have a shared interest in ensuring that inclusiveness, tolerance and respect are at the core of our games.”