GAA president John Horan insists it is up to referees and their matchday officials to “act upon” any incidents of on-pitch north-south abuse - if they hear them.
It is understood that a Derry player was subjected to comments from a Wicklow player during the sides’ Allianz Hurling League Division 2B clash in Ballinascreen last month.
The alleged incident was not mentioned in the referee’s report and had not been reported to the GAA by the Derry County Board after of their Division 2B final, while Wicklow chairman Martin Fitzgerald said they were “unaware of any incident”.
That followed similar accusations arising from Cushendall’s defeat by St Thomas’s in the All-Ireland club semi-final in February, while it’s understood comments were also made to an Antrim hurler in a National League game earlier this year.
The GAA’s rulebook categorises “an act by deed, word or gesture of a racist, sectarian or anti-inclusion/diversity nature” as a Category IV offence, which carries a minimum two-match ban if proven.
No such bans have arisen from any of the incidents detailed, and Horan said: “You’re down to the official hearing it and acting on it.
“If I exercise a bit of sledging on you and there’s only the two of us hearing it, it then comes down to one man’s word against another and it’s very hard for anyone to sit in judgment on that.
“It really is about the perpetrators being caught by the officials and getting it reported.”
