Tierney: GAA should stay amateur

THE saga involving Manchester United contract negotiations with Wayne Rooney highlights why the GAA should always retain its amateur status according to Armagh legend Benny Tierney.

Last week Rooney inked a five year deal with the Old Trafford club reportedly worth £180,000 (€206,000) per week.

But the All-Ireland winning goalkeeper believes that the agreement has all the hallmarks of everything that is wrong with professional sports.

“Globally and financially, we in the GAA can never really compare to the likes of the Premier League; however, socially, morally and ethically, we are considerably richer in every department,” said Tierney.

“Take a look at the Wayne Rooney saga last week, where a player (who is incidentally in the worst form of his career and has personal issues) and his agent practically held the biggest club in the world to ransom over finance and their future plans.

“This is a player who flopped at the World Cup and was being paid massive money every week and occupying every front tabloid page in Britain, and yet he then decides that the time is right to strike a deal for a more obscene wage or just up sticks and leave to go to a club that will pay it.

“Compare Rooney as an iconic sportsman to John McEntee, who it seems after a lifetime’s commitment to county and club has decided after a few years retirement to return to training in an effort to bolster his home club’s Ulster championship aspirations.

“No financial reward or heightened sense of importance involved in his decision; just a willingness to throw his shoulder to the wheel in a display of profound loyalty to his club and parish.”

While many soccer clubs in England such as Merseyside giants Liverpool, are relying on bailouts from “American or Asian entrepreneurs” to stay alive, even the smallest GAA units in Ireland will “survive based on the old-fashioned principles of combined hard graft and unity”, even with some of the harshest cutbacks in living memory as expected in the upcoming Budget ensuring that financing will be at a premium for the foreseeable future.

“Over a decade ago, when the Gaelic Players Association was formed, there were many, shall we say, slightly pessimistic opponents to this players’ body as they saw it as a possible journey towards the slippery slope of professionalism in our organisation” Tierney stated.

“Thankfully, as predicted by many more level-headed members, this has not materialised and the GAA and GPA have gone on to form an alliance based on respect rather than division.

“Professionalism in our association could never work and would effectively destroy our wonderful games.

“Take a look at what has happened to soccer and, in particular, the Premier League in England, where greed and avarice have practically brought the game to its knees. The smaller clubs are struggling to survive while the big name clubs are being bailed out by multi-millionaires who have no association whatsoever with the club and are only really interested in it as an investment opportunity. Compare that to our local clubs, who fund raise tirelessly throughout the year, not to make money, but just to survive so that they can continue to provide a sporting and social outlet for youth, which incidentally costs the parents nothing.”