Pat McEnaney has been criticised for a remark he made about Ballymun.

McEnaney, who refereed four All-Ireland football finals, has been asked to publicly apologise to the people in the area by local Fianna Fail Cllr Paul McAuliffe, who described the former referees chief's comments on an alleged headbutt by Dublin and Ballymun Kickhams footballer Philly McMahon against Mayo last Sunday as "disgraceful".

In an interview with the sports website Balls.ie, the Monaghan man said: "As someone would say, that's how people in Ballymun walk anyway."

Speaking to the Herald, an outraged McAuliffe said: "He should come out to face the decent people he insulted with such a crass remark and apologise in person, because a few lines of regret will be meaningless.

"I thought that this kind of area-based discrimination was over."

McEnaney told the same newspaper that he was just referencing a comment made to him on Monday.

"That comment was made to me," he said.

"A fella said that to me and I'm just quoting what someone said to me, so I didn't actually instigate that comment. I was saying it looked like a headbutt and he was saying 'no, that's how they walk in Ballymun'."

The Dublin City Councillor said McMahon - who won't face any sanction over the headbutt incident - was a role model for the area.

"Philly set up his own business in Ballymun, he's a great ambassador for enterprise in the city and he's a gentleman. He was also great during the recent marriage referendum and is a fantastic ambassador for civil rights," he said.

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