An All-Ireland winning footballer found guilty of punching a player in the mouth walked free from court yesterday after he paid €1,000 to charity.
Dublin star Cormac Costello “over-reacted” and “should have known better”, a judge said.
The 27-year-old, who was a spectator at the match, left Naomh Mearnog player Aodan Fee with a broken tooth.
The seven-time All-Ireland winner claimed he acted in self-defence in order to remove himself from a melee that broke out on the sideline.
However, on delivering a guilty verdict two weeks ago, Judge John King said Costello “intervened as a spectator when he should not have”. The judge added: “It was a reaction. It was an overreaction and he should have known better.”
Yesterday, at Balbriggan District Court, Judge King applied the Probation Act after Costello paid €1,000 to Mr Fee’s choice of charity, Macmillan Cancer.
In his victim impact statement delivered in court, Mr Fee said: “I really wished it hadn’t happened in this way.
“I wish I never lost part of my tooth, I wish children at the game didn’t have to see what occurred.’
He added that he bears no ill will towards anyone.
Mr Fee said he wished the GAA sporting body had “worked as it should and investigated the incident itself”.
He added “it was a single, stupid act”, he has no long-term injuries and asked the judge to be as lenient as he could with Costello. The incident unfolded during the second half of the Division 2 AFL game between Costello’s club Whitehall Colmcille and hosts Naomh Mearnog in Portmarnock, Co Dublin, two years ago.
Costello, a key member of the county team that won six All-Ireland titles, struck Mr Fee with one punch in the mouth after a sideline tackle crossed over into the spectators.
The player, of Lorcan Crescent in Santry, had denied assault causing harm on July 6, 2019.
Mr Fee said Costello struck him on the face, leaving his front tooth chipped, and his “mouth was shredded”.
He added: “It was a very, very solid punch. It was very, very painful.”
He said he had never been struck as hard before.
Mr Fee added he was “very scared” for his safety because it was not normal for a spectator to touch a player. Costello claimed he pushed Mr Fee away with force and that he did not mean to cause harm.
But Judge King said: “The victim could not have had a hold on the accused. The accused had a hold on the victim. He punched him, not pushed him.
“The accused intervened as a spectator when he should not have. He had the opportunity to retreat and his use of force was not reasonable [for an act of self-defence].”
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