THE GPA’s head of communications Seán Potts has given his backing to former Donegal manager Jim McGuinness over a dispute that’s emerged in the county over holiday vouchers.
Writing on Tuesday in his weekly newspaper column, McGuinness said he and six other members of last year’s squad – including defender Paddy McGrath and selectors Damien Diver and John Duffy – were unable to take part in the end-of-season trip to Dubai and that his information from Croke Park indicated they were “entitled to a voucher for whatever the holiday was worth”.
While the Donegal county board suggested financial concerns were at play, McGuinness went on to say Croke Park were sympathetic to his concerns and that “a total of €80,000 was handed over by Croke Park for the holiday fund and if the non-travelling parties receive a voucher then there is no implication [for revenue]”.
Commenting on the row, GPA spokesperson Seán Potts fell strongly on the side of McGuinness, who stepped down last October as Donegal boss after four years in charge. Potts also dismissed a clarifying statement from Donegal county board released on Tuesday afternoon which said all guidelines had been followed.
“The issue of revenue is an issue for an individual – they wouldn’t be in breach of anything. There isn’t a collective model on how a group of players work, but it’s very important that there is a reward, they’re amateur players," he said.
“The idea that a few players would miss out on the ability to travel is wrong and it shouldn’t have happened. It seems really unfortunate that it would be left unattended to and what Jim and that squad have done in the last number of years has been quite phenomenal in terms of achievement.
Potts continued: “This should have been sorted, this should not have been left in abeyance and it’s quite simply bad management in terms of administration. Vouchers should’ve been secured and, as far as I’m aware, that’s what’s happened in similar situations in other counties.
“It’s sad in this day and age when you consider the organisation that Jim and his team would have gone to in order achieve what they did.”
