Former Donegal captain Nadine Doherty revealed on this week’s Sportsgirls Podcast that players she knows have been on the receiving end of homophobic slurs during games.

Host Deniese O’Flaherty had broached the subject of ‘sledging’ after she had been made aware of incidents over the weekend.

Doherty said: “There is homophobic slurs being said now. I definitely heard of that. People I know have been verbally abused homophobically on the pitch. It’s shocking to go that low. On younger players things have been said and there is no place for it in the game.”

Diane O’Hora, who captained Mayo, admitted that there had been incidents during her playing career but she was able to ignore them: “From my own point of view I would’ve been hardy enough and prepared for whatever it might be.”

She went on to say: “I think you’d be tough enough in your own head to be able to understand that if someone is saying something like that to you, the chances are you are probably playing very well. They are trying to put you down in terms of reducing your confidence.”