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The Gaelic Players Association is set to “escalate protests” in pursuit of its expenses dispute with the GAA. Until now, players’ actions had been limited to a refusal to engage with media in match-day situations over the past two weekends.
On Thursday, however, in a video message to members, GPA chief executive Tom Parsons announced that it had been agreed “unanimously on a reps’ call to escalate the protest with the GAA”.
According to The Irish Mirror, that escalation will now extend to a total media boycott. The GPA did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on this.
In his message, Parsons alleged that “the GAA have reneged on our agreement,” a reference to the GPA accusation that the GAA had undertaken to restore the 2019 players’ charter and its expenses regime, which was suspended during the pandemic, as soon as normal conditions were restored.
The GAA dispute this and say that the protocol to cover a successor agreement to 2016-18 (which was rolled over in 2019) stated that a new charter would be negotiated separately in the first quarter of 2021 and that the previous agreement would be “the basis” for the new charter.
This however makes no reference to the GPA acceptance of reduced expenses during the pandemic and what arrangement governed their restoration - which the GPA insist was full reinstatement of the status quo ante.
Instead, a new players’ charter was unveiled without the involvement of the GPA, who withdrew from negotiations over the decision to limit expenses guaranteed by Croke Park to just four sessions or matches a week as well as the decision to limit the number of players covered in a panel to 32.
Anything in excess of these would have to be agreed with individual counties.
In his video, Parsons said: “Players are not responsible for policing the number of training sessions scheduled. The imposed charter now only protects 32 players which means inequality can start to fester between teams and players within squads. We cannot allow chipping away at the players’ charter to be tolerated.
“We have evidence to show that some players outside the 32 are being treated differently when it comes to receiving expenses. We have evidence to show that some players who are released from squads don’t receive expenses at all.
“We have evidence to show that some players who live outside the county for work or college are only being allowed to claim from their family’s address within the county.
“In one county in Connacht more than 25 players are being targeted to not be permitted to claim from their address outside the county at weekends, which is crazy.”
Again, the GAA dispute this, insisting that weekend trips home were specifically not covered even under the previous charter, as it was a journey that players were deemed to be undertaking anyway.
“On the reps’ call it was highlighted by all,” said Parsons, “that this cannot be accepted and that targeting one player is targeting all players. It was agreed that there needs to be a reset by the GAA in the respect shown to intercounty players and it was agreed that all players must be treated equally and at a minimum nobody is paying to play the game.”
Any blanket media ban would hit the GAA’s primary sponsors with the championship and all its attendant publicity due to start in the coming weeks.
Allianz, the league sponsors, have already borne the brunt of the actions to date, as their post-match interviews have been disrupted and promotional events in advance of the league finals next week would also be affected.