Blackout averted as RTÉ wins rights to Paris tie

WHILE Ireland may not have had much joy against the French last Saturday, RTÉ managed a victory yesterday by securing rights to screen tonight’s crucial tie in Paris.

RTÉ yesterday eased fears of a television blackout for the game by confirming it had secured the rights to broadcast the game after days of intense negotiations with French television companies and the French Football Federation.

The match will also be broadcast on Sky Sports and RTÉ radio.

Speaking yesterday, head of sport at RTÉ Glen Killane said he was delighted the station had finally secured a deal on the game

“Following extensive negotiations between RTÉ and the French Football Federation (FFF), I’m delighted to announce that a deal has been agreed which will give the Irish public the opportunity to enjoy this crucial game live,” he said.

The news will come as welcome relief to fans who had feared there would be a blackout for the game unless an agreement could be reached.

A deal was hammered yesterday morning although the cost of the agreement has not been disclosed. However, it appears unlikely RTÉ met the initial asking price of €1.5 million.

Last Saturday’s game in Croke Park attracted a peak audience figure of over 1.1 million viewers. An average of 858,000 viewers tuned in to watch the entire 90 minutes while the peak audience was during the final minutes of the game, which Ireland lost 0-1 courtesy of a deflected Nicolas Anelka goal.

Despite the loss, both the Irish players and management have expressed confidence they can cause a shock in Paris.

Fulham winger Damien Duff said an Ireland win was a possibility tonight, although he admitted it was an “uphill task”.

“We’ve obviously given ourselves an uphill task. Away goals are a massive thing in football, but if we go over there and nick one then it’s game on again so we are all confident we can go and do it,” he said.

At least 20,000 Irish fans are expected to descend on the French capital for tonight’s game, despite only 8,500 tickets being officially allocated to travelling supporters.

In an attempt to reduce Irish numbers at the crunch match, the FFF refused to provide more than the 10% mandatory ticket quota to Irish fans, a move French manager Raymond Domenech described as “the first victory” of the tie.

However, the FAI, travel agents and supporters groups believe at least 20,000 will be in Paris tonight, with large numbers of French fans’ tickets being sold unofficially.