PITCH INVASIONS: WITH LOUTH facing Dublin in one of four high-profile championship matches in Croke Park this weekend, the issue of security will be back under the microscope. Stadium director Peter McKenna and his team have not been idle.

All security measures in Croke Park have been re-examined since referee Martin Sludden was assaulted, despite the close presence of Gardaí, after Louth were controversially defeated by Meath in the Leinster final on July 11th.

“The difficulty for Martin was he continued to officiate after the full time whistle; handing out several yellow cards,” said McKenna. “The Gardaí were there. It could’ve been much worse if they were not.”

As a direct result, the system of chaperoning match officials back to the dressingroom has been tightened up with an outer layer of protection.

“We have a duty of care to the officials and players and will be sharpening this situation up. There will be stewards with the Gardaí guiding the referee off the pitch in future.”

In the same breath, McKenna was keen to avoid comparisons to other sporting environments where assaults on referees are ingrained in the culture.

“Putting in extreme contingencies for escorting referees off the pitch would be very South American. We don’t want that.

“The thuggery we witnessed after the Leinster football final will be dealt with when certain individuals have their day in court. The embarrassment that will follow for them and their families should stamp out this nonsense for good.”

As there is no trophy presentation in Croke Park tomorrow or Sunday, the threat of a pitch invasion has significantly decreased.

Despite the events that marred the aftermath of the Louth-Meath encounter, the GAA have retained a strong desire to present the All-Ireland football and hurling trophies on the pitch in September.

The Armagh minors footballers was a test run last season but both senior presentations were abandoned as Kilkenny and Kerry people flooded onto the playing surface.

Con Hogan is the chairman of the committee tasked with ending the tradition of pitch invasions.

“It makes the presentation more visible to everyone,” said Hogan. “It allows supporters of a team to connect better with the ceremony than when it is up in the (Hogan) stand. Then a lap of honour follows so the team can go and connect with all their followers without the supporters coming onto the field.

“We are going to improve security in Croke Park and that means physical security as well as human security. We’ll assess it then.

“We want to do presentations on the pitch but it has to be done safely. We have a number of matches coming up where we are going to have to gauge our security.

“There isn’t an absolute decision that we will do it this year but that’s what this committee are aiming towards. We will make the call a week or two before the hurling All-Ireland final.”

McKenna cited an on-field crush and poor access for an ambulance if such a scenario arose as the major fear held by the association.

“There is also a hidden danger that is evident to us as event planners: the compromising of the emergency exits. Everyone on the pitch must exit via the Jones’s Road. This is dangerous. The numbers going through the Jones’s Road exits after a sizeable pitch invasion is way beyond the capacity designed for these exits.

“That creates a real danger of crushing. An ambulance cannot get onto the field if it has been invaded or at least it will struggle to get on. Nor can an injured supporter or player be easily seen.

“The adrenaline rush of a player can wear out pretty quickly after a game. A crash in his system may require urgent medical attention. We can’t see that if there is a pitch invasion.”

McKenna points to the netting placed over the first few rows of the sideline seats as a possible solution.

“At the Leinster hurling final there was no pitch invasion. The netting over the first few rows helps tremendously but in the case of maximum capacity we are looking at allocating these tickets to neutral supporters.

“We do not want to go the way of the robust, sledgehammer approach to pitch invasions,” McKenna continued. “We are working on getting the majority of opinion working in support of the best possible safety measures.

“A fairly extensive campaign has been put in place by (GAA director of Communications) Lisa Clancy to get this message across. It has been fully endorsed by senior county board officials all over the country and the GPA – and by extension the players.”