Dundalk IT's decision to withdraw from Sunday's O'Byrne Cup clash with Wexford was taken after five of their players were assaulted in their shared home. The incident is said to have taken place just before Christmas and two of the players have sustained serious injuries. According to the college's sports officer Michael Heeney, the Dundalk players had no "appetite for football" as a result of the assaults. "We have never had an incident before and this was a big shock to everyone and I can tell you that after the incident no one in the squad had much appetite for football and were only making sure that the players made a full recovery," he said. "The house where five of the players were staying across the road from the college was broken into and the intruders proceeded to assault them and inflict some serious injuries. "This incident completely upset our plans for training during the Christmas period and since the college does not officially open again for students until January 22, we simply could not possibly put a team together for Sunday that would do us justice. "All the players had agreed to come to training sessions during the holiday period in preparation for the O'Byrne Cup and the Sigerson Cup, but the break-in incident threw all our plans out the window." Tweet

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