Bernard Brogan says GAA is a "special" sport played by amateurs who don't need blood tests for drugs.
Dublin GAA start Bernard Brogan believes plans to blood test players as part of a new drug testing regime for footballers and hurlers is “aggressive”.
He also said he was disappointed to be drug tested after winning the All Ireland with the Dublin footballers, saying giving a urine sample meant he missed 45 minutes of the celebration.
Thee GAA said this week that blood testing would be a feature next year for the first time.
However, three time All Ireland winner and one of the country’s most high profile and most talented players Brogan said he felt there was no need.
“Do I think there’s a need to go into blood testing? No,” said Brogan, who also has his own public relations company.
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“I don’t think that anyone is... we’re amateur footballers, we’re very proud of what we do.
“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.
“No-one has anything to hide in the GAA. We’re a special sport.
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“If that’s what they need to do to make themselves feel as if the sport is pure, that’s what has to be done.
“It’s not something I think is the right route, to go in and take blood out of someone to prove that they’re not cheating is a strange one.”
He also spoke about the test he had to undergo after winning the All Ireland with Dublin in 2011 under Pat Gilory, the first win by the country in over a decade and a half.
“We’d won our first All-Ireland in 16 years and I had to stand in a toilet with some lad and drink a load of water because I was dehydrated,” Brogan told The Irish Examiner.
“I missed the first 45 minutes of our celebrations in 2011 because I had to do that.
“In the end, I actually brought him into the bar and had three bottles of beer, but that just shows.
“Like, there has to be a bit of sense with it as well. It’s fairly intrusive.”
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