Sanctions against the Cork and Down football squads, including 12-week bans for respective managers Ronan McCarthy and Paddy Tally in overseeing collective sessions that breached training guidelines, will be confirmed later today.

The Irish Examiner are reporting that the sanctions may also include the loss of home venue for at least one Allianz League game. 

On 5 January, the GAA confirmed that no collective training would be permitted for inter-county teams for the remainder of January and warned that breaches would be dealt with under Rule 7.2 (e).

With the country now in Level 5, Covid-19 restrictions until 5 March, that situation remains. 

A statement from Croke Park on Monday evening outlined that it "would be irresponsible for the GAA to permit a return to collective training at this moment in time" The situation will be reviewed in a fortnight's time.

The proposed three-month bans for McCarthy and Tally, for being in breach of Rule 7.2, is set to commence when collective training is permitted again.

A gathering of the Cork squad for a recent session in Youghal and Down coming together at the Abbey CBS in Newry, was found to be in breach of Rule 6.45 that precludes collective training outside the specified window.  

Ronan McCarthy did acknowledge that the session on Youghal beach, filmed by a member of the public and then circulated on social media, was a "team building" exercise. 

Expanding further, he told The Examiner: "We are hugely conscious of our responsibilities to our players, backroom team and the wider public and are fully committed – as we have always been – to following Covid protocols, in particular during this difficult period of escalating numbers nationally."

The Irish News reported that the Police Service of Northern Ireland were called to Abbey CBS in Newry, following a complaint about people playing on the pitches at the school.

The PSNI left after being satisfied that no Covid-19 restrictions had been broken "as it was an elite team".

Down chairman Jack Devaney insisted that no training session had taken place but that "around 18" players had been present in two separate groups to receive programmes for individual training.

Devaney said that Down had "adhered to the directives from the GAA and we will continue to do so".