Image rights row: The Westmeath county board has strongly criticised a calendar produced by the Gaelic Players' Association in the aftermath of the county's historic Christy Ring Cup - and they say the calendar has "taken €12,000 to €15,000 out of the county" at a time the hurlers are trying to raise funds for a holiday trip.

And they have accused the GAA top brass of "pussy-footing" around the issues of image rights and the organisation's relationship with the GPA.

County board PRO Pat Doherty said he received a phonecall at his work place from The Sports Poster Company who produced the calendar for the GPA, asking if he would like to take out an advertisement.

"I find it incredibly frustrating that this could take place. This has taken €12,000 to €15,000 out of the county. I asked the girl who rang me if the GAA in Westmeath would benefit, if they had been given permission by the county board, or if the hurling board had been contacted, and the answer was NO in all three cases," he said.

Westmeath's Leinster Council delegate Tom Farrell raised the matter at this week's meeting of the county board, and pointed out that the photograph used in the picture was taken over 12 months before the Christy Ring Cup win over Down.

"The team photo was taken in Limerick in 2004 on the day we played Down in a league final. Nine of the players in the picture are not even in the panel this year," he said.

"The jersey is the old Westmeath jersey. And they have airbrushed the Westmeath County Council logo from the jersey. It is totally dissatisfactory."

Westmeath hurling captain John Shaw yesterday declined to comment on whether the team would receive any of the proceeds from the calendar, for which advertisements were sold at €220, €300, and €400. He said he was awaiting a call from a GPA official to clarify the position.

County secretary Paddy Collins backed a call for the matter to be raised at this weekend's GAA Management Committee meeting, and accused the GAA at top level of "pussy-footing" around the issues of image rights and the GAA's relationship with the GPA.

Paul Earls of the Sports Poster Company yesterday defended his company. He said they paid the GPA "a lot of money" every year to produce items like this, and "we are the only company putting anything back. There are a lot of cowboys out there putting nothing back."

He said he would make efforts to produce a new calendar with an up-to-date photograph, and said that the company routinely airbrushed out logos because of the patents on logos.

No GPA official could be contacted for comment.