Carlow father headbutted coach after son was substituted in under-12 match
U12 coach Alan Edwards v2
A CARLOW man headbutted a children’s soccer coach after the coach took his son off the pitch during an U12 match, Carlow District Court heard. Nigel Callinan (49) of Gurteen Grove, Carlow pleaded guilty to assaulting Alan Edwards, coach of Hanover Harps, at the playing fields of Presentation College, Carlow on 29 March 2025.
Garda Murphy told the court that shortly after 10am on the morning of the incident, gardaí were called to the grounds, where they were told that a parent had assaulted the coach. Mr Edwards said he had been headbutted, causing his nose to bleed. He sustained soft tissue damage and swelling to the bridge of his nose and suffered from headaches. He was discharged from St Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny with painkillers.
Solicitor Alex Rafter, appearing for Mr Callinan, handed in a number of character references and a letter of apology to the court. He said directions had not been forthcoming from his client on their first consultation, but that when they did meet, Mr Callinan immediately entered a plea.
“He is deeply apologetic and ashamed to be in court. He has never stepped through the threshold of a court before this,” Mr Rafter told Judge Geraldine Carthy.
The solicitor said the incident arose when Mr Callinan’s son was taken off the pitch after a goal was scored by the opposing team.
“A goal had gone in for the opposing team and unfortunately my client’s son was taken off. That had been a recurrence in the year,” Mr Rafter said, adding that his client’s son had become very upset at being blamed for conceding the goal.
Mr Rafter said that Mr Callinan had first approached an assistant coach, who told him to raise his concerns directly with the coach, Mr Edwards. When Mr Callinan approached him, however, the coach did not engage with his concerns and went to move away.
“My client grabbed him. He is a heavily set man; there was a coming together and the coach fell down,” Mr Rafter said.
The solicitor noted that while disputes in a sporting context were not unusual before the court, this case was different in that it had taken place away from the substitutes bench and had not been witnessed by the children present. “I’m asking the court to take solace in the fact that this didn’t play out in front of them â that’s important,” he said.
Mr Rafter outlined references provided by former employers, including City Colleges, Dublin and told the court that his client held a PhD qualification.
Addressing the court directly, Mr Callinan said his son had been singled out and subjected to verbal abuse as he left the pitch.
“He was inconsolable, and it was embarrassing for him to be crying in front of teammates. I was worried he might never play again if I walked away and didn’t resolve it in some way,” he said.
Mr Callinan said he had initially approached the female assistant coach before making his way towards Mr Edwards, who he described as being visibly stressed and focused on the game.
“I said, ‘this is important’ and restrained him by the arm. I shouldn’t have physically touched him â that started off the interaction, that was the wrong thing to do. In retrospect, I should have waited until the end of the match,” he admitted.
He described both men as being over six feet tall and of large build, saying the contact amounted to a “very minor hit”.
Explaining why he felt the complainant fell to the ground, he said: “We’re extremely large men, over 6ft and large. When you can get two big people … it was just a tap for all the world and he was on the ground.”
Mr Callinan said he immediately went back to the assistant coach to ask her to help Mr Edwards before sitting at a nearby picnic bench to wait for the gardaí or an ambulance. He said he waited for one-and-a-half hours and, having asked, he was told he could leave, which he did in order to attend a funeral.
Mr Callinan also commented on media coverage of the incident, saying the complainant had approached newspaper, which, he alleged, published the story “before facts had been established” and with what he claimed was an incorrect account of the injuries sustained.
“It was published that he had a fractured nose, but we now know that the injuries were exaggerated to ,” he added.
Mr Rafter told the court that his client had compensation to offer the injured party, as well as a donation to charity.
Judge Geraldine Carthy said she would finalise the matter early next month, pending receipt of a victim impact statement.
