IT’S A CASE of squad rotation for the RTÉ panel in the coming days as Ireland play two crucial Euro 2016 play-off games with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Richie Sadlier, Eamon Dunphy and Liam Brady will line up alongside Darragh Maloney for Friday’s first leg, while John Giles will come in for Sadlier on the panel for Monday’s second leg.
It is the second time Giles has been left off the panel for a big Ireland match this year, though RTÉ denied he had been “dropped” for the game against Scotland last June, explaining at the time: “John will not be on the panel for Saturday’s coverage of Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland but this is quite normal as the panel changes regularly for editorial, scheduling and availability reasons.”
Giles himself, however, was left “very disappointed” by the situation, while fellow panellists Eamon Dunphy and Liam Brady are understood to have appealed the station heads’ decision to no avail.
For every Ireland Euro 2016 qualifier since the Scotland game, Giles, Dunphy and Brady have been on panel, apart from the Gibraltar away match, when Sadlier was drafted in instead of Dunphy.
George Hamilton and Jim Beglin will be on commentary duty for both games, with coverage starting at 7pm on Friday 13 November at 7.00pm on RTÉ2 for the first leg, and at the same time on Monday 16 November for the return fixture at the Aviva Stadium, with both matches kicking off at 7.45pm.
