Tyrone star Sean Cavanagh believes that life bans should be enforced to help clamp down on violence at club matches.

There have been a few incidents in recent weeks which have saw county board's having to come down hard on their clubs, notably in the Tyrone league final between Carrickmore and Dromore, where violence on the pitch spread into the stand, and Cavanagh feels that a hard-line approach is the only way to stamp out the issue.

"I think in the past that the sentences handed out by the GAA haven't been strong enough to cut this out of the game," Cavanagh said on Setanta's iTalkSport.

"There seems to be a general acceptance that if we throw out a few so-called life bans. The policing of life bans needs to be looked at because local stewards are always going to let locals in to the game.

"I think the GAA has to come down hard at some point, and maybe look at punishing the teams that are involved rather than the individuals. All it takes is making an example of one or two teams or a particular county. Whenever you see these incidents, it doesn't do much for promoting our games."

The Moy man also thinks that referees should be given more authority on their decisions.

"The things that happened in the (Tyrone) league final have highlighted the problems that have been bubbling in the last two or three years. It seems to be something that's becoming more and more prevalent in the GAA, especially in club games," he stated.

"Stewardship in club games needs to be looked at, along with the protection of referees and the whole issue of respect both on and off the pitch. The referees have to be given more power and backing to make decisions. But the standard of refereeing probably needs to be looked at as well.

"I don't argue that Croke Park are addressing the issue, but they could address it a bit quicker." Tweet

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