RTE explain ‘once-off' Luxembourg vs Ireland broadcast decision with Late Late Show partly to blame
RTE'S scaled back coverage of Ireland's friendly vs Luxembourg was "a once-off" according to a source within the national broadcaster.
Viewers were struck by how there was no studio presence around
2
Troy Parrott did have the ball in the back of the net around the hour mark but it was ruled out for offside
Credit: Sportsfile
2
The Late Late Show will be back on-air in the coming weeks
Credit: RTE Press Office Issue
An
He/she told
"Another studio was unavailable for Tuesday's soccer coverage as it is undergoing essential maintenance ahead of the return of the Late Late Show and the Women's European Championships kicking off in July."
Tony O'Donoghue was present at the Stade de Luxembourg and did secure post-match interviews with manager
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But that the rest of the broadcast was left to commentary pair Des Curran and Ronnie Whelan to shoulder. This included them narrating over highlights at half-time, which
Among the tweets posted on X about the significant break from the norm, Indo Sport podcast host Joe Molloy posted: "No RTE studio panel for the match?"
The replies to his post were broadly critical of the national broadcaster.
Barry fumed: "Shameful drop in standards!!
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Niall Bergin posited: "Surely cost-cutting from RTE but
Man Utd fans fume as new 2025-26 kit is released with 'nod to Old Trafford'
Finally, someone else pondered: "This must be a first?"
However, others didn't think it was that egregious of a decision given last night was about as close to a meaningless international game as you're ever going to see.
Mick Finn argued: "A meaningless, nothing game…lucky to have it shown."
Lastly, one fan used what a dreadfully poor spectacle it was to crack an amusing gag.
He quipped: "Is it possible they had one and they just all fell asleep? Understandable enough."
Hallgrimsson
The birthday boy admitted: 'Let's be honest, we're not happy with this performance.
'It's good to keep a clean sheet but we all felt that in the first half we were sloppy, the game was boring in the first half.
"All the good things we did against Senegal were missing, all the quick movement, the press, the ball speed - so sloppy."
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Subs: C Hickey for Curtis (42); B O'Halloran for Lavin (temporary, 46-49); C Gray for O'Neill (46); B O'Halloran for S Rafferty (56), S Rafferty for Lavin (60); E Harkin for Duke (temporary, 64); C McBride for Menton (67). GALWAY: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, J Glynn; D McHugh, S Kelly, C Hernon; J Maher, C Darcy; L Silke, M Tierney, P Cooke; M Thompson, S Walsh, R Finnerty. Subs: P Conroy for Hernon (42); C McDaid for Cooke (43); D O'Flaherty for McHugh, D Comer for Tierney (both 51); K Molloy for Kelly (64). Referee: M McNally (Monaghan).
