Former GAA president, Ireland South MEP Séan Kelly, has said that some form of sanction will have to be imposed on the Dublin players involved in the training session on Wednesday which broke Covid restrictions.
“If it is true it is surprising and very disappointing — especially coming from the six in a row Dubs,” he told Newstalk Breakfast. Such a successful team had a responsibility to lead by example, he added.
“Every club and every county in the country are probably frustrated they can’t get back out on the field but there is a road map there. The GAA have outlined the guidelines and everyone will have to stick by them.”
Mr Kelly said that the GAA would have to react “strongly” to this breaking of restrictions as there was a need to be consistent in the way rules were applied.
The restrictions around groups of people gathering applied to every one, he said. “Whether you are All-Ireland champions or just at the bottom of the ladder.
“This is a serious situation and hopefully it was a once-off breach that won’t happen again because if it goes without some form of formal sanction then others will say 'why can’t we do the same?' It has created a very difficult dilemma for the GAA.”