A GAA referee received a punch that knocked him to the ground at a Kerry Urban League quarter-final between Keel and St Senan's in Tralee on Monday night.

Referee Gerard Lynch spotted a St Senan's player hitting an opponent five minutes from the end of the game and when he issued the red card the player lashed out and caught the referee on the jaw, knocking him to the ground. Both sets of mentors raced to help the badly shaken official.

"There was just about five minutes left and Keel were leading by a point . . . Then this individual was annoyed he did not get a free, seemed to hit a Keel opponent and when the referee brandished the red card, he just decked him with a haymaker and he fell to the ground. He tried to continue for another minute or two but could not and he had to abandon the game," said a spectator who did not wish to be named.

An investigation will be launched by the Kerry County Board.