By 
by Niall Gartland
THE GAA’s premier competitions are ‘tainted’ by the organisation’s continued sponsorship deal with Allianz, according to former Tyrone star Pascal Canavan.
Insurance giant Allianz will remain as sponsors of the National Leagues and All-Ireland Senior Championship following a meeting of senior GAA officials on Friday. The decision came despite calls from several county boards to end the relationship after a United Nations report alleged the company profited from the Israeli forces’ occupation of Gaza.
Allianz’s Irish Division has been the flagship sponsor of the National Leagues since 1993, and Mr Canavan, a member of Gaels against Genocide, insists the GAA is ‘out of touch’ with its grassroots membership.
“The GAA need to ask themselves on a basic level, how would county captains feel going up the steps of Croke Park to lift an Allianz-sponsored trophy? Those players are bound to have very mixed emotions.
“I’m not putting words in anyone’s mouths, but I’m confident in saying that lifting an Allianz trophy after what everybody’s witnessed in Gaza, wouldn’t sit well with most GAA players and most GAA folk.”
Defending the decision, GAA President Jarlath Burns highlighted the potentially disruptive impact on clubs and the negative financial consequences of severing ties. The Silverbridge clubman also drew a distinction between Allianz Ireland and its parent company.
“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?”
Mr 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.”
While Mr Canavan acknowledges the intricate legalities involved in commercial arrangements, he believes the GAA has sent a strong message that financial matters supersede ethical considerations.
“I’ve no doubt that some of the arguments are genuine, and there’s legal issues that aren’t straightforward to address, but ultimately I believe it’s clear-cut.
“There’s a decision to be made between people and profits, and the GAA have chosen profits and that’s very, very unfortunate.
“Just a few years ago, very few of us in the GAA were aware of what financial institutions wielded all this power, and where all this money is going to.
“The report to the UN changed everything – it made it very clear that Allianz are complicit in sustaining Israel’s genocide of Gaza, and the GAA’s reasons for maintaining the connection ring very, very hollow.”
