PILATE ERROR Cats legend and Laois manager slams GAA chiefs for washing their hands of club v county row as teams continue to flout guidelines with no punishment

LAOIS boss Eddie Brennan has hit out at the GAA’S “Pontius Pilate” approach to underground inter-county training.

And Brennan has backed the Club Players’ Association’s calls f o r county teams found training during the current club window to be thrown out of the 2020 Championship, a point of view echoed forcefully by Offaly chairman Michael Duignan (left) this week.

Brennan and Laois have abided by the GAA’S ruling that county training shouldn’t commence until September 14 but it’s an open secret that several other county bosses across the country have gone rogue and are running regular sessions while depriving clubs of their players.

GAA president John Horan and director general Tom Ryan said last Friday there are no punishments in the offing for offending counties but invited people to “call them out”, a stance which hasn’t been well received in many quarters.

Laois have now been paired against Dublin in the Leinster hurling quarterfinal on October 24/25 and Brennan said: “I haven’t seen them physically since the 12th of March when all this kicked in. A little bit of Zoom is all we’ve been doing, just catching up with lads.

“If I’m to be utterly selfish and apply my situation, the Laois county final is fixed for the 26th or 27th of September, the Dublin one is fixed for the 13th so straight away you’re at a disadvantage.

“The Wexford situation still hasn’t been clarified, is the Wexford county final going to be played at the end of August, like the Waterford one?

“In that sense, it’s not a level