Byrne hosts meeting of sporting bodies to tackle incidents of racism and violence in sport

A high-level meeting of leading executives in sport and the Minister for Sport was held on Tuesday to discuss the issue of incidents of racism and violence in sport.

The Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne TD, hosted the meeting with senior representatives from Ireland’s three largest sporting organisations (the GAA, FAI and IRFU) and was joined by Dr Una May, CEO of Sport Ireland.

Minister Byrne said: “Today’s meeting with senior representatives in sport offered a welcome opportunity to exchange views on how best to tackle incidents of racism and violence in sport. I am grateful to the GAA, FAI and IRFU for their valuable input today.

“As a sporting community, we have a shared interest in ensuring that inclusiveness, tolerance and respect are at the core of our games.

“I have asked Sport Ireland to prioritise the development of a national Code of Conduct template for use across Irish sport and this template is expected to be ready by the end of May and will be circulated to all National Governing Bodies of Sport.”