Croke Park will launch an investigation into the unruly scenes which marred the end of yesterday's AIB All-Ireland club football semi-final between Portlaoise and Kilmurry-Ibrickane at the Gaelic Grounds.

Referee Michael Duffy needed a garda escort as he left the pitch at both half-time and full-time after he issued Portlaoise defender Brian Mulligan with a straight red card after just 40 seconds. He also sent off Portlaoise captain Brian McCormack in the second half.

However, it was the early dismissal of Mulligan for a high tackle that sparked the ire of the Portlaoise supporters. He was confronted by angry Portlaoise officials after the game and also by an irate supporter, who was restrained by the Gardai.

While praising Kilmurry-Ibrickane after their shock 1-14 to 0-8 victory, Portlaoise manager John Mulligan - who is the father of sent-off defender Brian - added fuel to the fire when he said of the referee's performance: "I thought it was a joke. If the man has a conscience, he won't sleep for a long time. I don't want to sound a bad loser but it was an absolute joke of a refereeing decision.

"He caught him a bit high, it was definitely a free but a yellow would have sufficed. There is no such thing as consistency. One of their players came in as a sub, hopped off one of our lads and the referee did nothing.

"I asked him about it at half-time and he wasn't going to entertain me."

However, Kilmurry-Ibrickane boss Michéal McDermott backed the embattled official over the Mulligan sending off when he said: "The referee made a call on the dangerous tackle early on and if that happens, you've to go off for it.

"I thought he did a good job today and it was sad to see the scenes on the field there with the referee."

The GAA will await the referee's report before investigating the matter. Tweet

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