The GAA has refused London permission to come to Ireland and play two SF challenges.

The Exiles wanted to play the two matches next weekend - against Wicklow on Saturday and Louth on Sunday - as part of preparations for their May 26th Connacht SFC opener against Sligo.

However, the GAA has refused to sanction the friendlies due to a technicality, even though all the arrangements were already in place for the trip.

Rule 12.6, which was introduced to stop county teams from going abroad to warm-weather training camps in the build-up to the championship, forbids intercounty panels from participating in "training weekends, or training of longer duration, after the end of their respective national leagues, except during the 13 days prior to a senior championship game."

Ironically, this rule is now being used to block London from coming home to play.

"It is not like we are going abroad or anything," London manager Paul Coggins states in The Irish Independent.

"We are actually going 'home' and only because that is the only way we can get the sort of quality of competition that we need so badly to prepare for the Connacht championship." Tweet

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