The GPA have released a statement in which they reacted angrily to an open letter by the Tyrone County Committee urging GAA president Nickey Brennan not to grant the body official recognition.
The letter from the Tyrone County Board to GAA president Nickey Brennan was damning in its criticism of the GPA, insisting that they do not deserve official recognition from Croke Park.
However, the GPA and several senior Tyrone players have hit back at the comments from the county board, with the GPA calling the letter 'misleading, ill-informed and malicious'.
In a statement, the GPA said: 'By posting the letter publicly on their website, the Tyrone County Committee has now deliberately decided to initiate a row while negotiations between the players' body and the GAA are reaching a critical juncture.
'Let there be no mistake on this issue. This is a scurrilous attempt by Tyrone officials to regain and assert total control on players wearing the county jersey.
'The GPA wholly rejects all the assertions made in this document. We will be raising the issue at the highest levels of the GAA and will be seeking redress on this serious matter.'
Tyrone footballer Seán Cavanagh said: 'I totally reject the comments made by the Tyrone County Board in this letter. They were not speaking for me or the Tyrone footballers or even, I would venture, the majority of GAA people in this county.
'The players have earned the right to be officially recognised through the GPA.'
Tyrone hurling captain Barry Winters also stood firm in his backing for the GPA, saying: 'The GPA has been hugely beneficial to the Tyrone hurling squad and was there for us when we needed support. This letter is a slight on all inter-county players.'
