Seamus Hickey: Unfair to focus on players in club v county struggle

Seamus Hickey: “It really is a cross-GAA culture that has to be changed and placing all of the responsibility on the player to make the decision is the same as two managers of a hurling and football code fixing training for the same night and telling the player to choose.” Picture:  Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

GPA chairman Seamus Hickey has defended the body amid suggestions that it should have been stronger in calling for players to ignore requests to train with their counties until the window set aside for club action has closed.

The players' association released a statement at the start of July highlighting the agreement that no collective inter-county training was permitted before September 14th but added that any sessions sanctioned prior to that by a county board should be covered by the GAA injury benefit scheme.