RTÉ not showing Shelbourne's Europa League second leg against Rijeka
will not televise
Shelbourne
's Europa League second-leg qualifier against Croatian champions HNK Rijeka from Tolka Park next Tuesday due to budgetary and personnel restraints.
Joey O'Brien's team lead 2-1 from the first leg
following a surprise victory in Rijeka
on Wednesday night.
If Shelbourne win the tie on aggregate they are guaranteed group stage football in either the Europa League or Conference League, and at least €4 million in Uefa prize money.
Shels have never reached the group stage in European competitions.
READ MORE
The national broadcaster provided live coverage of their 1-0 victory over Linfield at Tolka Park on July 9th, in the Champions League first qualifying round, with RTÉ disappointed by an average audience of just 120,000.
The second leg at Windsor Park in Belfast was available on the BBC iPlayer in Northern Ireland and subscription channel Premier Sports in the Republic.
RTÉ committed to showing the women's Euros in Switzerland this summer and the GAA Championship along with the Dublin Horse Show, Euro Hockey, the women's Rugby World Cup and the World Athletics Championships from Tokyo in September.
All these commitments, plus the short six-day window of the tie being scheduled, were factored into the decision to not cover the League of Ireland champions at this juncture. The cost to RTÉ of screening the game would be in excess of €70,000.
RTÉ lost the League of Ireland rights to Virgin Media this season,they did, however, retain exclusive coverage of the FAI Cup.
Shelbourne have also approached Virgin about providing live coverage of the second leg against the Croatian champions as only 3,650 fans can be accommodated inside Tolka due to Uefa's restrictions. There will be no travelling Rijeka fans as they are currently banned due to crowd trouble at previous games.
The game will be live on LOITV with the FAI confirming that Shelbourne will receive 100 per cent of the revenue from the streaming service.
For every European game the club negotiates the cost with the rights holder. So, for Tuesday at Tolka Park, LOITV and Shels have come to an agreement on cost for a two-camera production.
LOITV is platformed by Premier Sports which is owned by Mickey O'Rourke, who is a shareholder and chairman of the Shels board.
RTÉ production costs are significantly higher than Premier or Virgin, as they use six cameras and a drone.
Shamrock Rovers fans can pay €9.99 to watch tonight's Uefa Conference League qualifier against Ballkani in Kosovo.
With Rovers, Shels and St Patrick's Athletic still on course to earn group stage football this season, RTÉ have not ruled out purchasing the rights for another European game in the coming fortnight.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
41 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
O'Brien tells RTE 'doesn't bother' me as broadcaster snubs big Uefa game
Shels boss Joey O'Brien says he is not bothered by the lack of coverage for his side's electrifying Europa League run. The Reds beat Rijeka last week in Croatia, coming from a goal down to win 2-1, to set up a blockbuster second leg at Tolka Park tomorrow night. Neither the midweek win at Rijeka nor the second leg at Tolka Park has been down for TV coverage. READ MORE: Heimir Hallgrimsson will be thrilled with Troy Parrott's comments as Ireland striker's sensational scoring run continues READ MORE: Ciara Mageean receives support on Camogie's big day at Croke Park 'It doesn't bother me, it is what it is, the TV stuff, there will be 5,500 here or whatever it is with the seating situation," shrugs O'Brien. "Hopefully, we attack the game and put on the show and don't have any regrets. "That was the whole thing leading up to the first leg, about going out and performing, making sure, regardless of what happens, have no regrets. It might turn out to be a landmark night for Irish football that won't have been witnessed by many. 'Listen, all that sort of stuff is out there, but you just need to stay focused, it's about your performance as a player making sure you're ready to go. "That's what I always say to them, you can't play the occasion, I know it's all the cheesy lines and all that, but you can't. "You need to make sure you're stone cold about it and you don't grip the bat too tight because when you do, sometimes you want it too much, and you make mistakes. "You have to play free in these games, put your best foot forward then. It's a great time to be involved with Shelbourne at the minute, coming into the game like this and then a FAI Cup in Inchicore. It doesn't get much better." Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
Irish Daily Mirror
41 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Shels wary of return of the 'new' Luca Modric for 2nd leg at Tolka Park
Joey O'Brien has warned his players - and Shels supporters - to expect Rijeka to be fired up by talisman Toni Fruk's return for tomorrow night's European qualifier at Tolka Park (7.45pm).An attacking midfielder, capped at every international age-group from u14 to u21 (eight age-groups!), he was called into the world-ranked 10th Croatia squad for their two World Cup qualifiers in June. Fruk wears no10 and has already been written in as the successor to current no10 Luca Modric, 39, who is expected to retire either in or just after this World Cup cycle. READ MORE: Heimir Hallgrimsson will be thrilled with Troy Parrott's comments as Ireland striker's sensational scoring run continues READ MORE: Ciara Mageean receives support on Camogie's big day at Croke Park 'As you might expect, playing at the level they play at, Rijeka are serious opposition and have serious quality players," warns shels boss Joey O'Brien.'Their main man Toni Fruk was suspended in the first leg but from watching the videos of previous games, and he played against Ludogorets in both games, he was probably one of the best players on the pitch."He started their league game at the weekend and he'll come straight back in and add a different dimension to them because he's a top, top player so we'll be on guard."Shels, 2-1 to the good from the first leg of their Uefa Europa League, 3rd qualifying round, will be specifically looking to close down the space on the flanks."I suppose people probably haven't seen how good a team they were, I don't know how many people seen the match but we are going to be up against it. "In possession, they are really good, they use wingers on the side of the pitch, one-v-ones, we had our hands full there and we know that."It's going to be a tough, tough night but as I've always said, we're playing here at Tolka, they've no fans so it's going to be a full house all for us, so we are going out to win."It's going to be a great challenge for us and one we can't wait for, it is very exciting."There was a capacity 5,474 at Tolka on Saturday evening for the Bohs derby and the Rijeka match is also sold out with the Shels boss adding:"I thought the atmosphere here today from both sets of fans was brilliant and, as a game of football showcased our league, a full house."I just said to someone over there that I don't think ten years ago with a game like Leeds and AC Milan across the road, I don't think this place would have been full."So I think it shows where our league is at, overall, I'm sure both sets of fans, they got their money's worth Seán Boyd is not expected to return from the calf injury that has been dragging on longer than hoped although there was some consolation in a lively display from new signing Sean Moore. 'Seán looks to be struggling and I don't think he'll turn it around that quick."And I don't think there were too many injuries tonight (against Bohs), we were able to get more minutes into the lads who haven't been starting, they've got a start, I'm sure they're raring to go for Tuesday. "Seán Moore coming in as a new player starting after a couple of pre-season games, he needs to get going, I wanted to see him, coming off that side of the pitch onto his left foot. thought in the first half he opened up a couple of moments. He'll only get better." Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
The 42
an hour ago
- The 42
'All we heard all week was the three-in-a-row. We were there to take it off them'
GALWAY FORWARD AILISH O'Reilly says the pre-match discussion around Cork's All-Ireland three-in-a-row bid was a motivating factor in their victory today. O'Reilly hit three points as the Tribeswomen denied the Rebelettes the elusive three-peat which their county has not achieved since their four-in-a-row in the 1970s. In what was a frantic finish in Croke Park, Orlaith Cahalane scored an equalising goal for Cork before Carrie Dolan scored her seventh free of the day to see Galway crowned as champions. 'This is sweet,' O'Reilly told the Sunday Game after their 1-14 to 1-13 victory. 'When they got the goal, and to respond the way Carrie did shows a lot about this team after we were written off so much. 'All we heard all week was the three-in-a-row. We were there to take it off them. And I think we proved a lot of people wrong. 'It suited us down to the ground, all the talk was about Cork. It felt like we were just going to show up and they were going to hand them the trophy. We were so riled up.' Advertisement Galway manager Cathal Murray — who has now managed the Tribeswomen to three senior All-Ireland titles — echoed her sentiments when he spoke to the media after the game, saying: 'We were given no chance at all.' Galway full-forward Ailish O'Reilly speaks to Valerie as the Tribeswomen celebrate their All-Ireland triumph Watch on @rte2 and @rteplayer #SundayGame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 10, 2025 Galway have a history of being the county that prevents Cork from earning that record having derailed them in 2010 and 2019 at the All-Ireland semi-final stage. However, Murray insists that the three-in-a-row aspect was never the focus, and that they were driven by the hurt of last year when they were on the other side of an All-Ireland final result at the hands of Cork. 'It's not that we wanted to stop the three-in-a-row. We wanted to win this for us. 'That heartbreak that was there last year, we had to put that to bed. We knew we were good enough, it was a matter of delivering in the big moments, and thank God we did.' Murray said he considered stepping down last year after that defeat. He was first appointed as Galway boss in 2018, going on to deliver All-Ireland successes in 2019 and 2021. But last year's loss to Cork was a 'gutting' result according to the Sarsfields man, prompting him to contemplate his future with the team. He relented from following through with that decision, before leading Galway back to the All-Ireland final where they overturned last year's result today. 'Maybe unfinished business,' Murray responded when asked about why he decided to reconsider. 'When we look back on it, as management, we felt we got an awful lot right. The players, they just performed unbelievable, and there's always just that regret that it just wasn't the right time to walk away.' 'Obviously, we're proved right now.' Doubts resurfaced after Galway suffered a 0-21 0-10 beating at the hands of Cork in the Division 1A final, signalling back-to-back losses in major deciders. 'Management-wise, we were terrible in the league final. We were shocking. And we weren't much better on the field either. 'But, you know, it wasn't a typical Galway performance, to be honest with you, and in fairness, for us, I think the best thing we did is we drew a line through it. We didn't even look back on it.' When asked what his thoughts are for the 2026 season, Murray said that 'it's a bit too early' to make any firm decisions about his status as manager. But he did stress that he has a young family at home which he will factor into his thinking before making any commitments. 'I know this is the biggest, best job I'll ever have, simple as that. I'll never have a job like this again, where I'm dealing with these sort of girls, week in, week out, year in, year out. They're an absolutely incredible bunch. 'But it is hard on the family as well, and as I said, I owe a huge amount to my wife.' Related Reads 'It's not sour grapes, I just thought the referee had a very poor match' Galway crush Cork's All-Ireland three-in-a-row hopes to claim senior camogie crown Murray said he didn't see the incident that led to Hannah Looney's red card and declined to offer a comment about Ger Manley's criticism of the decision. He added that it was a physical contest and commended camogie referees for allowing the game to flow in comparison with previous years. But he feels that improvements could still be applied to the officiating standards in the sport. 'The referees have been really good over the last number of years for facilitating that, I think there was probably three different things in the game where people got a free for someone standing up in front of them and running. 'It happened in last year's All-Ireland final as well and that rule, and I'm saying this now as a winning manager, that rule has to change. It's absolutely crazy. You go to a club match in Galway and someone is soloing with a ball and someone stands up in front of them and takes a hit, it's a yellow card and it's a free and that rule has to change.' Murray also highlighted the input of the Galway bench today. Niamh Kilkenny, Niamh Hanniffy, Niamh McPeake and Áine Keane all started last year's All-Ireland final but were unavailable for today's Croke Park battle with Cork. 'Listen, we knew we'd have to battle. We knew we'd have to run ourselves into the ground and we did. 'That was the moment, Carrie's free and I'm delighted for her. She is our leader for a reason, she is captain for a reason, she is a leader. It's moments like that we value her so much.'
