Jarlath Burns: It would have been 'folly' for GAA to ignore recommendation on Allianz

The GAA had asked its ethics and integrity commission to report on the association's relationship with Allianz after a UN report highlighted links between the company and Israeli war bonds

GAA president Jarlath Burns: "Allianz Ireland is not involved in the war in Gaza and our ethics and integrity commission have confirmed that to us and we are happy with that." Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

Jarlath Burns said it would have been "folly" for the GAA to ask its ethics and integrity commission to report on the GAA's relationship with Allianz and then not accept their recommendation.

It was confirmed on Friday that the GAA's management committee had voted in favour of maintaining the relationship with Allianz. The report was commissioned after 800 current and former inter-county players called on the GAA to review its relationship with the multinational company. That was due to a UN report highlighting links between Allianz, Israeli war bonds, and the war in Gaza.

"The company that we do our deals with is not directly involved in any way in the war in Gaza," GAA president Burns told RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport show.

"That is the report of the ethics and integrity commission that have spent the last four months going into deep academic research on all of this. It is one of the most impressive reports I have read and I think it would be folly for us to get the best people that we have got to do a report and then just ignore it."

Burns continued: "We cannot be carrying out acts of self-harm on the basis of the fact that some people think that Allianz plc is directly involved (in the war in Gaza) - they are not, it is through a different company. I'm not going to go into the legal specifics of it now but Allianz Ireland is not involved in the war in Gaza and our ethics and integrity commission have confirmed that to us and we are happy with that."

Allianz sponsors the National Leagues and the football championship and is also the GAA's main insurance underwriter. Burns outlined some of the issues the association would have faced had they decided to end the relationship with Allianz. 

"First thing we need to realise is that Allianz covers our public liability, employers liability, personal accident, property, asset insurance, and event insurance," he said.

"As well as that, they're the official claims administrator for the GAA injury benefit fund. The first thing we would have to do is look for a new insurer."

Burns continued: "We would find it very difficult to find a new insurer. We would be asking our volunteers and our clubs to do a complete new asset inventory of every single thing that they have. That would place an intolerable burden on the association and what would we get for that really? We could admire ourselves for a few days that we had taken this wonderful decision but then serious work would start and we have to be very careful that in our attempts to do the right thing that we don't carry out acts of self-harm."

Burns added that "in this modern world of quantum entanglement it would be impossible to find a (new insurance) company that wouldn't have some sort of a sibling relationship going right back to that conflict.

"The third thing we would have to do is legally unravel the existing contract which runs to 2030 which would make us a toxic prospect for any other sponsorship company."

Burns was asked if he expects players to oppose the decision. 

"Well players are volunteers," he said. "They can make their own decision on that. I know that we got a petition of 800 players and ex-players that was significant and that gave us the momentum to actually have it to discuss it at our management committee and at Ard Chomhairle and that gave us the momentum to bring it to the ethics and integrity commission.

"800 might seem a lot. In the vast scheme of things, it's 0.13% of our membership. I think in the last month I have been to something like 27 clubs - at no stage has anybody brought me aside and said I'm very uncomfortable with this."

Earlier this week, Leitrim became the ninth county to officially call for the GAA to end its relationship with Allianz. The association may have to deal with motions regarding the relationship at Congress in February. 

"The motions coming to congress, that's not ideal for us," said Burns.

"It would have probably suited us for the report to come out in Halloween and then we could have spent the next month prepping our counties for the reality of where we were. That's not the way life works."