Man who brandished wrench at referee must pay €1,000
The court heard that the defendant had suffered "a lot of ignominy" as a result of the case.
A Claremorris man who brandished a wrench at a referee after an underage soccer match has been ordered to pay compensation of €1,000.
Tom Blake, aged 66, of Barr na Haille, Claremorris pleaded guilty at Ballina District Court to the production of an article and engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour at Foxford on August 17, 2022.
At a previous hearing, Sgt Conor McShane told the court that Gardaí were called to the home pitch of Straide and Foxford Utd at 7.30pm when the defendant, a Castlebar Celtic supporter, confronted referee Michael McKay. Blake began verbally abusing the match official and called him a ‘Tan b*****d’ several times after taking exception to some of the referee's decisions.
Mr McKay subsequently informed the Castlebar coach that he was going to make a complaint to the FAI about the incident and then left the pitch and went to the car park. However, Blake continued to verbally abuse him. Mr McKay approached the defendant's vehicle and attempted to record the registration plate. Upon seeing this, Blake went to the rear of the vehicle and took out a wrench.
At the sentencing hearing last week, solicitor Tom Walsh said his client had never been in court before. Mr Walsh stressed there was no excuse for his client’s behaviour and Blake had collected the sum of €500 as compensation.
“It was totally out of character, and he deeply regrets it,” he said, adding that his client has no intention of appearing in court again.
Mr Walsh also referred to the publicity the case attracted and said that was "another form of punishment".
“There has been a lot of ignominy in his life as a result of that, which is not in any way taking away from the victim, but that in itself has served as another form of punishment.”
Judge Fiona Lydon asked Mr Walsh if he had read the victim impact statement and the solicitor confirmed that he had, noting that some of the remarks his client made to Mr McKay were "nasty".
Judge Lydon said she would be willing to apply the Probation Act - meaning no conviction will be recorded - if the defendant pays €1,000 to the victim before January 23rd.
