The GAA is breathing a sigh of relief after the results of this year's anti-doping procedures have all come back negative. The Irish Times reports that 75 random tests were carried out over the course of the league and championship - a third of those being "out-of-competition" - and there are no instances of adverse analytical findings. Last year, Kerry's Aidan O'Mahony became the first GAA player to test positive for a banned substance, but it later emerged that he had unknowingly taken high levels of the asthma medication salbutamol and was cleared of any wrongdoing. In a significant related development, the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has also approved its new list of prohibited substances and methods for 2010, which the GAA, like most other sports, now adhere to. The most notable change is in fact related to salbutamol, as from January 1st next year, it will no longer require a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), but rather a simplified declaration of use. However, the substance remains banned at and above the level deemed to offer performance-enhancing effects. The GAA's operations manager, Fergal McGill, who in his role in player welfare also has responsibility for anti-doping issues, welcomed the Wada decision on salbutamol but more importantly, stressed the latest findings regarding the GAA's enviable position as a "drug free" sport. "This is an administrative change, really," he said. "The therapeutic use exemption was a more complicated thing to get. Now, the player only has to declare salbutamol use, when he's actually tested. So they've really just simplified the thing, and anything that makes anti-doping procedures that bit easier has to be welcomed. "The situation with Aidan O'Mahony last year really brought our attention to the issue of salbutamol. Our anti-doping programme is still relatively new, and we are still learning all the time, but certainly something like salbutamol is a fairly common substance that's used in the proper treatment of asthma." He added: "As for the 2009 testing, we're delighted to report there's been no problem with any of those tests. They've all come back clear. Looking back over the past decade, there's been one positive test in Gaelic games, and there were obviously mitigating circumstances there, and it certainly wasn't any attempt at cheating or performance enhancing . . . So that's something we're extremely proud of, and I think it's wonderful the GAA is able to say that despite the fairly rigorous testing, we remain a clean sport. No too many sports can say that." Tweet

Most Read Stories