Former Dublin supremo Tommy Lyons has voiced his concern about the increase in spectator abuse of players and managers, referring to it as 'a cancer'. Lyons, who was hounded out of the Dublin job in the wake of the county's Leinster championship defeat to Westmeath four years ago, was speaking at the launch of RTE's GAA championship coverage on Thursday. His comments come just weeks after John Maughan was forced to step down as Roscommon manager following abuse from spectators. Lyons said: "Nickey Brennan should have a strong inquiry into finding out the culprits and getting them banned form GAA matches. "The danger is that if we don't start clamping down on these guys who throw things in on the pitch, it will start to develop. "One of the disappointments I had as Dublin manager was when we lost to Westmeath. Guys were spitting at me coming off the pitch in Croke Park. What amazed me was that people didn't react to it. That cancer has come into the Association. "There are photographs of who the culprits were and they were never challenged by the GAA. That is a GAA issue. It is not a county issue. I don't think we should allow this into our grounds." Tweet

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