Tyrone legend claims some GAA players are probably taking performance enhancing drugs

Tyrone stalwart Sean Cavanagh has insisted that he feels that some county GAA players are 'taking that chance' when it comes to using performance enhancing drugs.

The All-Ireland winning forward has seen a drastic change in the GAA landscape since he burst onto the county scene at the beginning of the century, and players taking supplements to build muscle and aid recovery has become a central part of training nowadays.

The Moy Tír na nÓg star thinks some players are going a step further than using just protein supplements however.

"You know, five, six, seven or eight years ago, whenever we were being tested, 10 years ago, the worst thing you could fall foul of was a dodgy Lemsip," he told the Irish Examiner.

“Nowadays there’s that much proteins, branched chain amino acids, I don’t understand half of the stuff the boys are taking, to be honest.

“I suppose you have to recognise that there is a risk there and guys are taking that chance."

“I have no doubt there are players who are probably taking the chance. You have to accept that you do want that level playing field. I don’t have an issue with the doping (tests) as such. It’s just the way in which it is done.”

The former Footballer of the Year also bemoaned the process of how anti-doping tests are carried out in the GAA, though he says he understands the need for them.

“We’ve seen it at training on a Tuesday night, an hour from home only and guys still sitting there at a quarter to 12 at night waiting to give their sample when they have to get up for work the next morning at seven o’clock.

“Whilst you understand that it has to be done, the way in which it is done sometimes can be frustrating for players in that we’re treated as professionals but we’re not professionals and that can have an impact on guys’ lives as well.”

He concluded: “It’s a complete minefield at the moment. I’m not into all that, I’m still stuck in the Tracker Bar and Jaffa Cake era of 10 years ago!

“But look, some guys are hugely into it nowadays so I’d say there probably is a chance, whether purposefully or not, that there are guys that are playing that have something in the system that shouldn’t be there. That’s just a fact of life.”