“There is a huge contradiction here.”
Former Sunday Game analyst Pat Spillane has blamed RTÉ for making the GAA programme “too PC” with its current crop of panelists.
One of the most prominent voices in GAA for years, the outspoken pundit was part of the iconic show during its heyday alongside Joe Brolly.
With The Sunday Game struggling to bring back some of the magic of their previous analysts, the former Kerry footballer has slammed “inclusivity” rules from the national broadcaster as the main issue.
Pat Spillane blames RTÉ for making The Sunday Game ‘too PC’
In July 2022, Spillane left The Sunday Game after three decades on the RTÉ show.
“I jumped before I was pushed. Trust me, my P45 was ready and waiting for me, but I would not give anybody the satisfaction of telling me I was finished, so I left on my terms,” he wrote in The Sunday World.
Spillane admitted that while he misses the buzz of the job, he does not watch The Sunday Game on a regular basis since he left the role.
“The programme has followed the example set across all sporting platforms with its analysis becoming too PC and generic.”
He argued in his column that “there is a huge contradiction here”, due to the broadcaster “practicing exclusivity because male pundits aged 60 or over are being excluded, which I believe is unfair.”
He continued by saying, “It strikes me that RTÉ Sport executives decided to get rid of so-called celebrity sports pundits,” presumably referring to himself, Brolly and Colm O’Rourke.
“They followed the example set by Sky Sports and opted instead for an analysis package featuring a deep dive into statistics and gizmos.
“Guess what? Sky Sports have reversed their policy and now their soccer analysis is built around the views of three celebrity pundits – Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher.”
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