Ahern sounds warning over Sky football deal
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern today signalled his intent to take legal action, if necessary, to keep live coverage of Ireland’s home international soccer matches on terrestrial TV.
Mr Ahern, a football fan, sounded his warning after a meeting yesterday with the Football Association of Ireland, who last week controversially signed a multi-million pound deal giving exclusive screening rights for the games involved to Sky TV.
The move - which would bar live coverage by domestic TV stations - prompted a story of unabating criticism from the public, and Mr Ahern bluntly told the FAI of the European and legal implications of the development during a 90-minute exchange with senior officials from the body in Dublin.
The FAI are taking legal advice before reporting back to Mr Ahern, whose cabinet is likely to decide to act on the issue at a meeting next Wednesday if no compromise emerges before then.
Today Mr Ahern, one of a number of Government figures to express disappointment at the £4.8m (€7.5m) FAI-Sky link-up, said: ‘‘Our position is that we believe the legal position is clearly on our side and, if we have to, we will impose that position.
‘‘I am not trying to take any money away from the FAI - the best of luck to them. They need money and have outlined to us their problems, which we acknowledge.
‘‘The position for us is that we have a clear law in this country and a clear European Union directive. That means that the people of this country are entitled to watch major events free to air.
‘‘If we are pushed to do that, we will impose it. The FAI will get their advice and Sky, I am sure, are not averse to taking a legal case. But I can see solutions to it.
‘‘We are the sovereign Government and there is legislation and an EU directive and it is quite clear.
‘‘We cannot sit around and disenfranchise a large part of the population from seeing matches they are allowed to see.
Mr Ahern spoke to the football authorities after receiving a report on the legal positions about TV coverage from Attorney General Rory Brady.
Earlier, a senior European Union official suggested that the Government could draw up a list of protected sporting events to ensure that the live matches would be available to viewers free of charge.
Before the meeting between the FAI and the Government, Tanaiste Mary Harney indicated that the Attorney General had given the cabinet a preliminary view that there were legal grounds for intervention in the TV deal.
She also declared: ‘‘Each year we give a huge amount of funds to bodies like this, and of course the FAI in particular want to see the taxpayers fund the national stadium.
‘‘We cannot on the one hand expect the taxpayer to pay for the infrastructure and then deny the very same taxpayers the opportunity to watch the matches. They cannot have it every way.’’
