Gardaí are investigating an alleged assault of a GAA player during a juvenille match in Co Meath on Saturday.

Conor Cribben-Hayes has started the long road to recovery at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda after being the victim of a repeated stamping which resulted in his leg being broken in two places.

The 17-year-old from Kildalkey, Co Meath, was allegedly assaulted during a melee at the end of an U17 match between his team Clann na nGael and Kells club Gael Colmcille in Rathcairn, a Gaeltacht area.

Paramedics removed him from the pitch on a stretcher and he was moved to a neighbour’s house before being transported to Drogheda at approximately 6.30pm where he underwent treatment.

“He’s got two broken bones [in his leg],” his father William said. “To do that sort of damage is a motorbike accident, a horse landing on top of you or falling off a roof.

“As a parent, it was the most vicious and sickening thing I’ve ever seen in my life in sport.”

He told Independent.ie reporter Ryan Nugent: “When Conor went on the ground, I was telling him to get up and get out of there,” he said.

“I went to jump the fence and by the time I got over there, the fella had jumped on him at least five or six times.”

The paper also report that the Meath County Board have referred the case to the Competitions Control Committee (CCC) and that a full investigation is underway.

“Everyone in the club is very disappointed that this has happened to such a talented young player and we will be giving our full support to him and his family, as well as any other investigation that may be carried out in relation to the incident,” a spokesperson for Clann na nGael said.