The stringent new anti-doping tests were always going to ruffle some feathers.
On Wednesday, the GAA’s Medical, Scientific and Welfare committee confirmed that anti-doping testers would be allowed to, at their discretion, extract blood or urine samples from the amateur players from 2016 on.
The Gaelic Players Association were not said to be “thrilled” about the new rules. Their take was echoed somewhat by Dublin’s All-Star forward Bernard Brogan, who says that he often found the testing procedures intrusive and aggressive.
“Do I think there’s a need to go into blood testing? No,” Brogan stated.
“We’re amateur footballers, we’re very proud of what we do,” he added. “Do I think there’s going to be any abuse of that? I’d be very surprised.
“To get blood tested is a bit aggressive, I think.
“But, as I say, we’ll just kind of get on with whatever we do. We have nothing to hide.”
Brogan pictured at the launch of the Federation of Irish Sport’s Annual Review 2015.Brogan relayed one drug-testing tale where, after Dublin had beaten Kerry to win the 2011 All-Ireland, he had to drink water in a toilet, with a tester for company, in an effort to produce urine for a sample.
“In the end,” he said, “I actually brought him into the bar and had three bottles of beer, but that just shows.”
One hopes the tester was not from The Kingdom.
