A District Court judge has given footballers Phil Babb and Mark Kennedy the benefit of the Probation Act after they pleaded guilty to causing damage to a car owned by a garda last August.
Under the terms of the Probation Act they have no conviction on their records and must keep the peace .
"A conviction on their record would far outweigh the consequences of the act itself," Judge William Hamill said.
The two Republic of Ireland players had also been charged with breaching the peace and being drunk and disorderly on the same occasion.
They voluntarily offered to pay £5,000 to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and had paid almost £667 to Garda Elaine Farrell for damage to her car.
The judge said both men had paid for the damage they did to the car and had paid for their juvenile behaviour.
"They have been dealt with by the authorities in the full glare of the media," Judge Hamill said.
Garda Farrell told the court that on the morning of August 29th she saw Babb (29) and Kennedy (24) rolling over the bonnet of her Volkswagen car near Harcourt Square, Dublin, setting off the alarm.
The two got into a taxi and when Garda Farrell opened the door and identified herself she said Babb shut the door.
When they eventually got out of the taxi she arrested them and Babb said to her: "What do you think you are doing. Who do you think you are?"
She said she could smell alcohol from the defendants.
When the charges were read to them Phil Babb replied: "OK, fine". Mark Kennedy made no reply, she said. Both spent the night in custody.
Mr Peter Charleton SC, for Babb and Kennedy, said they deeply regretted the incident and had apologised at the earliest possible opportunity. He said their actions were "wild horseplay" rather than intentional criminal wrongdoing.
Both footballers had been punished by being dropped from four international matches, Mr Charleton said. Garda Farrell replied: "I do not follow football."
"Both of them come from backgrounds where they have had to work hard to achieve their success," Mr Charleton said.
"When they are not in a situation of having had too much to drink they are gentlemanly and well behaved young men," he added.
Babb plays for Sporting Lisbon, while Kennedy plays for Manchester City.