Warrenpoint Town claim Mark Byrne was ‘physically assaulted’ ahead of Irish Cup brawl in Ballymena United tie

Byrne was issued a red card by referee Shane Andrews after leaving the field of play to enter the crowd during an injury-time melee involving players, spectators and stewards.

“Following the 87th-minute winning goal by Ballymena a number of spectators jumped the fence to celebrate with the Ballymena players,” alleged McGreevy in a club statement. “Watching the video of the event, it is evident Mark Byrne was physically assaulted.

“This assault and the sectarian verbal abuse were reported to the referee at the time.

“It is important that we are mindful of the mental wellbeing of the 19-year-old following the vile abuse that was reported by the media present, players and spectators.

“In the video footage we have, the Ballymena ‘fans’ are clearly visible jumping up on the barrier and collapsing the barrier onto the playing surface.

“Our stewards have moved in and taken physical and verbal abuse in attempts to hold the fence back up.

“We are collecting further evidence of the events that took place after the restart of the game up until the final whistle.

“We do not condone the actions of Mark.

“There is no place in football or society for violence.”

Police have stated “enquiries are continuing” following a report of an assault on Saturday afternoon.

The Irish Football Association have confirmed plans for the Disciplinary Committee to meet this month to review the situation.

The brawl took place following a Northern Ireland Football League statement on Friday highlighting discussions over “increased alleged incidents of unacceptable spectator behaviour”.

McGreevy commended NIFL and called on the “Irish FA to urgently tackle it before it gets worse”.

A Ballymena United spokesperson said the club would not be making any comment at this time.