RTÉ bans product placement by players

RTÉ CHIEFS have banned product placement by players in all sports broadcasts, it announced last night.

The decision follows last week's Irish Examiner revelations that members of the Gaelic Players Association were receiving €500 if seen drinking Club Energise, made by GPA sponsor C&C, during post-match interviews.

"We don't want to comment on specific incidents," an RTÉ spokesperson said last night. "But we have a policy in place which we aim to stick to. We cannot and will not allow product placement. "There will be no exceptions," he added.

"This is a new policy. We will be making it clear to players or whoever that this is our stance. And this applies to all sports whether it be hurling, football, soccer or rugby."

He confirmed that RTÉ officials have explained their position to GPA chiefs. A source close to RTÉ flagship GAA programme, The Sunday Game, outlined the practical difficulties faced by broadcasters.

"This is an issue that's come up in the last 12 months, players drinking in interviews. In a live interview there's not a lot you can do you can ask the players politely to put the bottle down, but at the same time you have to respect their wishes. If the interview is recorded it can always be edited, and the bottle can be left. This year we've tried to be subtle and polite in dealing with this, but we're also monitoring the situation to see how this goes. It's not just a matter of free advertising, it also looks unprofessional on our part if a player is being interviewed while he's swigging from a bottle. We don't want to lose the good relationship we have with players and managers, but we don't want this to get out of hand either to the extent that something is being promoted and we're being taken advantage of.

"Players are obviously well aware of the financial implications and you can't blame them. GAA players deserve a few bob and if you were an inter-county player you'd probably do it yourself, but all we can do is keep an eye on this and monitor the situation.

"We have a good relationship with Dessie Farrell (of the GPA), so if this gets worse we'd go to him first of all and then approach the drinks firm."

The source also claimed that some inter-county teams were betting among themselves last year as to who'd be seen with the bottle and who wouldn't in televised interviews, a situation described as "farcical."

*Sunday's Munster SHC semi-final between Cork and Waterford attracted an audience of 274,000, the highest figure for a live game this season.