GPA hope to break deadlock over RTÉ interviews

THE Gaelic Players Association is confident that the deadlock with RTÉ over player interviews will finally be broken today after a week of protracted and complicated discussions.

Both parties have called in teams of lawyers to examine the EU’s surreptitious advertising law in the hope that an interpretation of the legislation can be agreed upon which would allow RTÉ to relax their enforcement of the ban.

After a number of weeks with little or no communication on the issue, Montrose officials finally met the GPA face to face on Tuesday and Thursday of this week.

Although far from settled, it is now hoped that an agreement will be reached by lunchtime today. However, a morning of constant phone calls and emails to and from Donnybrook is likely to be in store before that can come about.

“These things are never easy. It’s been talks over and back, over and back all week,” said GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell yesterday evening. “We’re still involved in negotiations but hopefully we’ll be able to announce something before the afternoon.

“The interpretation of the legal side of things seems to be the crux of it all. They’re looking at things from one angle, we’re looking at them from another. It’s quite intricate.”

RTÉ has consistently pointed to the existing legislation as evidence of the fact that their hands are largely tied on the matter, though they still seem to have lost the moral high-ground.

Being aired giving interviews with a bottle of Club Energise in hand has been enough to earn players €500 since the idea was introduced by C&C and the GPA last summer and the ill feeling among players over their rigid stance has been made abundantly clear.

The difference of opinion on the matter has led to players and - in the case of the Cork hurlers - a whole team refusing to give interviews to the national broadcaster until some sort of a resolution is found.

A text vote organised by the GPA among their members found that 92% of those who responded were in favour of withdrawing their co-operation from RTÉ until the matter was resolved.

Despite the heated feelings, Farrell has claimed that discussions with RTÉ have been more than civil with both sides keen to come to a conclusion acceptable to everyone.

“What’s important is that there is a determination there on both sides to bring the matter to an end,” said Farrell. “There needs to be compromise. We would like to think that an arrangement can be made.”