THE GAA will retain its controversial Allianz sponsorship deal following an Ethics and Integrity Commission report.

The association said that terminating the sponsorship would make it “impossible to secure an alternative insurer that would not have similar links” and “could expose the Association to legal consequences apart from loss of sponsorship”.

Part of tonight’s statement added: “The GAA is ethically and legally bound to honour its contracts, and a failure to do so has the potential to damage its reputation and undermine its ability to do business with commercial entities.”

It continued: “Allianz plc has no involvement with the IDF or corporate entities involved in the war in Gaza. Any such relationship is with a ‘sibling or cousin company.’”

In a statement, Allianz said it acknowledged the conclusion of the report.

It said: “For clarity, Allianz p.l.c. confirms that it has no holdings in the government bonds referenced in a report by the current UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, has no relationship with Elbit Systems and does not engage in any investment or underwriting activity connected to the Middle East. We have been transparent about this factual position throughout.”

It added: “We appreciate the seriousness and independence with which the Commission has conducted its work. This process has provided independent assurance on a complex issue and confirms that the partnership can continue on a clear and informed basis.”

Several county boards had previously passed motions calling on GAA Central Council to terminate their commercial partnership with Allianz Insurance Group.

A United Nations report published in July identified Allianz’s German parent company, through its subsidiary PIMCO, among the companies and corporations which hold Israeli Government Bonds.

The GAA’s current National League sponsorship deal with Allianz’s Irish division was renewed this year and is set to continue until 2030. The partnership is one of the longest-running in Irish sport, having been in place since 1993. 

Allianz are the underwriter for all the GAA’s clubs and grounds, while their sponsorship portfolio also covers the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and Cumann na mBunscol competitions.

In August, a petition signed by close to 800 current and former GAA players called on the Association to drop Allianz as a sponsor, which led to the GAA referring the issue to their newly constituted Ethics and Integrity committee.

Dublin All-Ireland winner David Byrne has been among those to criticise the GAA’s Allianz sponsorship.

“When it’s a human rights issue, and we in sport are in some way connected to the funding of a genocide, I think it’s important that we do speak up against it,” he said in October.

“We have a little bit of a platform. We are not huge celebrities, like big international soccer players or anything like that, but we do have a bit of a platform and a voice within our own community.

“And I think the GAA itself has such a brilliant ethos and such a brilliant reputation. And if we see something that we don’t agree with, that’s socially a bit wrong or morally a bit wrong, it’s important that players organise themselves to speak out against it.”

You can read the GAA’s statement in full here.

Written by The 42 and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.