Government firm on TV plan despite Sky threat of legal action

THE Government has vowed to press ahead with its plans to ensure that all of Ireland’s competitive soccer internationals will remain available to free-to-air stations, despite the possibility of a legal challenge from Sky TV.

However, Communications Minister Dermot Ahern conceded yesterday that he did not have power to force the Rupert Murdoch-owned station to make next Wednesday's crucial European Championship qualifier against Switzerland available live to terrestrial TV stations.

It was confirmed yesterday that the crucial tie which could impact on Mick McCarthy's reign as Irish manager will be available only to subscribers to Sky Sports.

Many soccer fans had mistakenly believed that the game would be screened on free-to-air channel Sky One after public outrage at the controversial 7.5 million deal between Sky and the FAI.

The deal gave Sky exclusive TV rights to Ireland's home internationals in the qualifying stages of the 2004 European Championship.

Although Mr Ahern has called on Sky to make the match available as a "gesture of goodwill", a deferred screening of the match with Switzerland will be shown on TV3 at 10pm on Wednesday.

Mr Ahern decided yesterday to defer seeking Cabinet approval for a finalised list of major sports events to be made available free-to-air. Under the EU Television Without Frontiers Directive, the minister is allowed to designate that sporting and cultural events of national significance remain available, free of charge, to TV audiences.

Mr Ahern claimed the deferral was designed to allow for "a swift resolution" of the issue as the FAI were scheduled to hold talks with ministers, including the Taoiseach, later today.

Other Government sources said the minister would have the legal power to compel Sky to make FAI home matches available to terrestrial TV by the time of the next competitive international against Albania on June 7 next.

Meanwhile, the FAI insisted that the Sky TV rights deal remained vital to develop Irish soccer.

"Without financial investment, there will be no new generation of soccer stars to watch. TV rights income forms the backbone of the FAI's finances for this investment," an FAI spokesperson said.

It is understood that in secret talks, efforts by the Government and FAI failed to find an alternative source of revenue.

FAI sources said its deal with Sky had become even more crucial for the association's finances following signals that Government funding for the sport could be restricted due to an economic downturn and budgetary constraints.

The formal list of events, which will include all of the national soccer team's qualifying matches for the European Championship and World Cup, is due to be ratified by the end of the month.

It will then be forwarded to the EU in Brussels, where formal approval is expected to be completed by January.

A Sky spokesperson refused to comment on the issue last night.

Meanwhile, the European Broadcasting Union said its ability to broadcast major sporting events would not be directly affected by a controversial ruling by the European Court of Justice this week.

The Court of First Instance in Luxembourg ruled that EBU members like RTÉ and the BBC had an unfair competitive advantage over other terrestrial broadcasters in the acquisition of TV rights for sports.

It has led to fears that RTÉ would face increased competition from TV3 in the race to acquire TV rights for major sporting competitions.

The EBU has two months to launch an appeal against the court's decision.