It's going to be a long and messy argument. Mary Hannigan reports on RTÉ versus the FAI on TV rights
If the Battle of Saipan, between Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane, divided Irish footballing opinion, then the hostilities which have kicked off between RTÉ and non-Sky Sports subscribers, in the one corner, and the Football Association of Ireland, in the other, threaten to be just as fiery.
Based on opinions expressed by assorted media commentators over the weekend, take your pick of the sides: (1) The FAI was perfectly correct in accepting the offer from Sky Sports of €7.5 million over four years for exclusive live rights to the Republic of Ireland's home matches; (2) Is nothing sacred any more?
Mr Ahern, the Minister for Communications, vowed that an attempt would be made to padlock the stable door after the horse had disappeared over the horizon - namely through initiating talks with sporting bodies which would result in the drawing up of a list of "crown jewel" events which would be shown free on Irish television.
But the Consumers' Association of Ireland was calling on fans to boycott the Republic of Ireland's home games and the Irish Football Supporters' Association was launching a postcard campaign against the FAI/Sky deal.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio yesterday, Mr John Delaney, honorary treasurer of the FAI, defended the deal, claiming that RTÉ had "misinformed the public on Friday when it said it was pay-per-view".
It was not pay-per-view, he insisted, but was "subscription television", referring to that brand of TV which you, well, pay to view.
An RTÉ spokesman last night dismissed Mr Delaney's claim that it had misled the public.
Saying the FAI was obsessed with semantics, he said Ireland's home games would only be available to viewers who subscribed to Sky Sports. In that sense, they were being offered on a "pay-per-view" basis.
Mr Delaney maintained that RTÉ had offered the FAI a "lower amount of money" on this occasion than in the previous contract - €100,000-a-year less, he claimed.
He added:"We offered [the contract] to RTÉ at 20 per cent discount, less than Sky are now going to pay us. So, really, the question must be asked: why did RTÉ take that type of stance? Did they really want to do a deal with the FAI?"
Mr Niall Cogley, head of TV sport for RTE, said last night: "It's unfortunate that the FAI are resorting to factually incorrect statements to defend their actions."
Mr Delaney also rejected RTÉ claims that it had only heard of the deal via a TV3 news bulletin on Friday evening."That is simply not true," he said. "The FAI contacted RTÉ at 5.10. How RTÉ communicate that internally is their own business, but I can assure you we contacted RTÉ at approximately 5.10 that evening, after the board had made the decision and the national council had been informed. Laurence St John, our TV adviser, spoke with Frank Whelan at approximately 5.30 on Friday evening. That is a fact."
RTE took issue with Mr Delaney's claim. Phone records showed that no such call was received, the spokesman said.
The upshot? The FAI's relations with RTÉ are about as healthy as Mick McCarthy's are with Roy Keane.