PAT SPILLANE quipped 'Promotion of GAA my a**e' while venting about how Gaelic Games are operating in the shadow of Euro 2024. The Kerry legend based his argument around what he considers the missed opportunity of a bumper slate on Saturday. Not only had you the two hurling quarter-finals taking place but there were also three preliminary quarter-finals featuring the big ball.
Writing in his Sunday World column , Spillane felt both codes were slighted by a combination of the GAA and RTE in order to best accommodate rugby and soccer. He emphasises that while the URC final was shunted to the RTE News channel when neither Munster nor Leinster qualified , it still had a negative impact on the hurling match-ups. This is because they were fixed for early throw-in times ahead of time due to RTE's contractual obligation to show the URC decider.
That neither the favourites in Leinster nor the holders in Munster made it was an unfortunate stoke of misfortune as it wound up being a far less appealing prospect for an Irish audience. Regarding the Gaelic football he reiterates his long-held frustration at the GAAGO subscription service (co-owned by RTE and the GAA) holding exclusive rights to such marquee match-ups. The 68-year-old also takes issue with how late into the evening The Saturday Game highlights show was bumped back in the TV schedule.
He blasts: "The Saturday Game on RTÉ is a great idea. Last Saturday, it was shown from 10.50pm until midnight.
"Only the diehards would stay .
