Courtesy: Google/X
During a recent Irish League football match between Carrick Rangers and Cliftonville at Solitude, an incident involving Carrick Rangers' goalkeeper Jack McIntyre and a ball boy occurred approximately 20 minutes into the first half. As McIntyre went to retrieve the ball for a goal kick, he took the ball from the ball boy with his right hand and appeared to push the ball boy with his left, causing the youngster to fall to the ground. The ball boy required medical attention following the incident. The referee did not issue a caution to McIntyre at the time.
Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton commented that McIntyre was "lucky" to avoid a red card. He said, "If he has put hands on the ball boy and that is the rule then he was lucky not to be sent off." The Irish Football Association (IFA) is aware of the incident and is awaiting the referee's report before deciding on any further action. The IFA stated, "We have to wait until we receive the referee’s report before we can investigate further. This is the usual protocol."
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Cliftonville defeat Carrick Rangers with a 3-0 scoreline
Both team managers, Stephen Baxter of Carrick Rangers and Jim Magilton of Cliftonville, indicated they did not witness the incident directly during the match. Talking about the NIFL Premiership match on March 22, 2025, Cliftonville defeated Carrick Rangers 3-0 at Solitude.
The goals were scored by S. Gordon in first-half stoppage time (45'+1), R. Curran in the 56th minute, and A. Parsons in the 87th minute. Notably, Parsons also missed a penalty earlier in the 87th minute. The match saw several substitutions and a yellow card for C. Pepper in the 44th minute.
