Dunphy back on air after bout of ill-health

SOCCER pundit Eamon Dunphy will be back in the RTÉ studio this evening to analyse England’s crucial final first-round match against Croatia after missing Saturday’s games because he was “not feeling very well”.

The controversial pundit was unable to go on air and went home shortly after arriving at RTÉ after 4pm.

He had been due to give expert analysis on two games, including what turned out to be a classic, the Netherlands-Czech Republic clash.

According to eyewitnesses, he was in good form the night before, having spent some time in the popular Dublin nightclub Reynards before moving on to Joys, the late-night wine bar.

After Joys closed, the 58-year-old invited a select group back for a house party at his home in Ranelagh, south Dublin.

The following day, Trevor Steven, the former Rangers and England winger, was the lone pundit for both games, sharing the studio with Bill O’Herlihy.

However, there is no question of the former footballer being dropped from the RTÉ Euro 2004 studio, said spokesman Richie Ryan. “Why would he be?” Mr Ryan said.

Two years ago, Mr Dunphy was removed from the RTÉ World Cup panel after turning up “unfit for work”. He was on air for a number of minutes before being pulled. He admitted arriving for work “tired and emotional”.

Mr Dunphy’s analyses and wit during the opening rounds of Euro 2004 have received praise.

Management at RTÉ, who are competing for viewers with the British terrestrial stations, are generally happy with the figures.

Around 322,000, or 29% of the audience share, watched the England-France game last Sunday evening, the highest rating of all the matches. The Henrik Larsson factor helped pull in 212,000 viewers for Sweden’s 5-0 hammering of Bulgaria.