KERRY SCHOOL POBALSCOIL Chorca Dhuibhne has made an official complaint to the GAA after a player was subjected to alleged racist abuse during their recent All-Ireland colleges A football semi-final.
Former Kingdom manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice is principal of the Gaeltacht school, and he says that a complaint was lodged to the body that oversees post-primary schools GAA.
The incident in question occurred in their last four loss to Naas CBS — who went on to be defeated in the Saturday’s Hogan Cup final — on 30 March, and it’s claimed that the alleged abuse came from a section of the Kildare school’s support.
The Irish Independent’s Colm Keys is reporting the latest this morning, which includes some reaction from Fitzmaurice.
The 2014 All-Ireland winning manager said that the school didn’t raise the issue straight after the game last week because they didn’t want it to “be misconstrued as sour grapes”, and instead they waited until after the final.
“We had been beaten fair and square by the better team on the day. We just wanted to have our facts straight,” he said.
“It was after the game that I was made aware that there was a racist element to some of the chanting, not all of it,” Fitzmaurice explained.
“It definitely wasn’t anything to do with the opposition players. It very much came from an element of the supporters, not all of them, it should be pointed out.
He added: “We would like to make sure it doesn’t happen again and that it is a one-off thing.”
Speaking on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta’s An Saol Ó Dheas programme yesterday — as reported by Tuairisc.ie — the school’s principal outlined their intention to make the complaint, and stressed that they wanted to protect the student and take a stand against racism.
He also noted that similar instances had occurred to the player when he lines out with other teams.
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