Munster Council to review stewarding at Thurles

The Munster Council have reacted to the scenes before Tuesday night's minor hurling final replay between Limerick and Waterford.

The throw-in for the match was put back due to a large number of the 6,532 attendance arriving late to Semple Stadium in Thurles.

There was also a bizarre scene as many people crossed the pitch itself, due to congestion in the New Stand, as the minor teams were about to start the game.

The Munster Council have now stated that, as a result of the scenes, their stewarding procedures are now under review.

“As with all fixtures of this nature, the only side of the ground that was opened was the new stand," a statement read this evening. "This stand has a capacity of 10,000, which was more than adequate to cater for the numbers that attended. As a large number of people came to the ground with 15 minutes to go to throw-in, we took the decision to postpone the throw-in for 10 minutes in order to allow everyone safe entry to the ground.

"We are satisfied that this was the correct decision and are satisfied that queues had dissipated at 7.35pm. This was actively monitored by council officials.

The Fans
"Regarding the fans who walked across the pitch from the New Stand to the Kinane Stand, we regret any inconvenience caused to the participating teams in their preparations for the game and we will be reviewing the matter with Semple Stadium.

“We regret that a minority of fans took the decision to leave the New Stand, which had ample room to accommodate all patrons.

“The council acknowledges that there was inadequate stewarding to the front of the stand to cope adequately with this patron behaviour and it is a matter that we will review.”