Irish trade union SIPTU has written to RTÉ calling on the broadcaster to refuse to air the Republic of Ireland's two UEFA Nations League fixtures against Israel — and has pledged to back any workers who refuse to be involved.
RTÉ's response was blunt: it can't. The broadcaster says it holds a contractual obligation to air both matches, one in September and one in October, and that walking away would mean breaching that contract — putting its future sports rights acquisitions at risk.
The Eurovision comparison that doesn't quite hold
SIPTU's letter, signed by Services Divisional Organiser Adrian Kane, pointed to RTÉ's decision earlier this year to refuse to broadcast Eurovision as evidence of what's possible. "We are asking that RTÉ show the same moral courage on this occasion," Kane wrote.
RTÉ pushed back on that directly. The Eurovision situation gave them full agency as a participating member — they could simply choose not to participate. Broadcasting rights for football fixtures work differently. "RTÉ does not have discretion to elect that these particular two matches should not be broadcast," a spokesperson said.
It's a legally meaningful distinction, even if it's not a satisfying one for the union.
The match is already moving
The FAI has already confirmed that the October 4 home fixture — originally scheduled for the Aviva Stadium — will be relocated to a neutral venue. That's a concession to the pressure building around the fixture, but it doesn't resolve the broadcast question.
SIPTU's position is that both the Irish government and the FAI "must step up" to prevent the matches going ahead entirely. Whether that pressure moves either body is another matter. For now, RTÉ is locked in by contract, the match is moving grounds rather than being cancelled, and the October date is still on the calendar.
