Outspoken GAA pundit Pat Spillane was assaulted by Donegal fans after a match in Croke Park.

Mr Spillane (56) last night said he had been left "shaken" by the experience, explaining how he received a number of "belts" to the stomach after being surrounded by fans on Clonliffe Road as he left the stadium in Dublin.

The attack on the eight-time All-Ireland winner happened two weeks ago after Donegal had beaten Cork to secure a place in the All Ireland final.

Mr Spillane said he had not reported the incident to gardai because he could not identify the people who had hit him.

"There must have been 10,000 Donegal supporters on the road and there was a lot of shouting and screeching, but most of it was good humoured and I just kept my head down and carried on," Mr Spillane told the Irish Independent.

"But then a flag was thrown in front of me and I got a couple of belts to the stomach. I can tell you I was glad to get out of Dublin that day.

"I'm used to it in one sense -- getting a lot abuse.

"But in this case when it was a gang coming against you, mob mentality took over, fuelled by drink, and a few headcases in the crowd."

The RTE pundit received a number of punches to the stomach and said he could not "breathe easily" until he had reached Urlingford on his way home to Kerry after the game.

The former Kerry footballer is notorious for riling fans with criticism of various county teams on the 'Sunday Game'.

But apart from being hit by an umbrella once, he said it had never before resulted in physical violence.

"You do get a lot of roaring and screeching but nothing like this has ever happened before, but it could have been a lot worse," he added.

Critical

Last year, Mr Spillane was severely critical of Donegal's tactics when they played a very defensive game against Dublin in the All-Ireland semi final.

He spoke of having seen an apocalypse for Gaelic football in the first half of the game, while referring to the standard as "shi'ite football".

He also described Dublin's win as "a victory for Dublin and a victory for Gaelic football" and said "Gaelic football as Donegal wanted to reduce it to would degenerate it into a shambles".

Donegal's much-greater emphasis on attacking play this season has won them plenty of plaudits -- even from Mr Spillane.

"I was very, very impressed by Donegal yesterday . . . I saw a more positive approach . . . They'll be a hard nut to crack," he said after they beat Derry earlier this summer.

Fellow television pundit Joe Brolly revealed the assault on Mr Spillane when he wrote a column for a local newspaper condemning it as a "scandalous attack".

The former Derry All-Ireland footballer said he had spoken to Mr Spillane before the second semi-final between Mayo and Dublin last Sunday and found that he was still shaken as a result of the experience.

The attack has also been condemned by Donegal GAA chairman PJ McGowan who apologised to Mr Spillane, saying he had been shocked to hear of the incident.

Mr McGowan said: "I'm really shocked to hear of the assault and I want to condemn it in the strongest possible way and I want to apologise to Pat on behalf of the decent and genuine Donegal supporters."