18-07-2025
Big TV boost for Shelbourne fans ahead of Champions League second round qualifier against Qarabag
SHELBOURNE fans will be delighted to hear that their first leg with Qarabağ will be shown on Premier Sports having been stuck on Wednesday with no TV coverage.
Shelbourne face Qarabag in the next round of the Champions League qualifiers having overcome Linfield.
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This is Shels' first Champions League campaign in 20 years
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Qarabağ by-passed the first qualifying round for the second year in a row due to seeding
The Reds
A Chris Shields' penalty halved the deficit but it wasn't enough for the Belfast side as the champions of Ireland progressed.
Joey O'Brien's side will now face Qarabag in Tolka Park on Wednesday July 23 for the first leg.
The tie will be shown live on
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Coverage starts at 7:15pm for the 7:45pm kick-off with Aisling O'Reilly set to present alongside Kenny Cunningham and Dave Rodgers.
Premier Sports is available as a part of a 'Sports Extra' pack on Sky and Now TV but is available to all Virgin Media members for free.
Premier Sports founder and owner Mickey O'Rourke is a majority shareholder in Shelbourne FC, taking over the shares of Acun Media in November 2023.
This coverage is a far cry from Wednesday night's Champions League clash when Shels fans who couldn't travel to Belfast were forced to fork out €15 to watch the match on a Linfield-run stream.
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It is not confirmed as of yet how the Auld Reds supporters will be able to watch the July 30 encounter with the Azerbaijani outfit as it appears no local channels will be showing it.
This is not the first time Qarabağ have faced an Irish team in the second Champions League qualifying round with the side knocking
Celtic star Daizen Maeda spotted doing press-ups in technical area after being subbed-off against Sporting Lisbon
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The Azerbaijan League winners in 11 out of the last 12 seasons are no strangers to Champions League qualifiers.
Qarabağ even qualified for the group stages of the competition - something an Irish team has never achieved - in 2017. They finished bottom of their group behind Roma, Chelsea and Athletico Madrid.
In the 2023/24 season, Qarabağ reached the Round of 16 in the Europa League - the furthest they've ever got in Europe - facing Bayer Leverkusen.
A 2-2 home draw was followed by a heartbreaking 3-2 away loss to end their Europa League campaign.
The Karabakh based side qualified for the Europa League, league phase last year but could only record one win in eight games and finished in 36th place.
