Shamrock Rovers have said they are "considering if it will facilitate any future requests" for RTÉ to televise their League of Ireland home matches this season after it was confirmed their two-legged Europa League play-off tie with PAOK will not be shown by the broadcaster.
The matches (on 22 in Greece and 29 August in Tallaght) will be available on the League of Ireland's independent streaming service LOITV on a pay-per-view basis.
The Hoops have progressed to this stage after beating Slovenian side Celje last Thursday in Tallaght.
They had already played two European rounds prior to that victory, neither of which where televised by any broadcaster.
Stephen Bradley's side defeated Icelandic side Vikingur before welcoming the biggest crowd for a European game in recent memory in a 2-0 defeat to Sparta Prague.
Television rights for the PAOK tie were available to acquire for any Irish broadcaster including RTÉ, Virgin Media and TG4.
In a statement, Shamrock Rovers said: "The club exhausted every avenue across the four rounds of European matches to deliver matches on a free-to-air national broadcaster, but to no avail.
"Live streaming has provided fans with the option to follow the Hoops home and away in Europe in July and August.
"It has been a disappointment that these thrilling games have not been showcased to a wider Irish audience.
"And now, the visit of PAOK will not be broadcast on terrestrial Irish TV."
Addressing their unhappiness with RTÉ Sport, in particular, for not acquiring the rights, the club said: "The club is considering if it will facilitate any future requests from the national broadcaster to show SSE Airtricity Premier Division fixtures from Tallaght Stadium in 2024."
St Patrick’s Athletic have also reached a play-off round as they face a Conference League tie with Istanbul Basaksehir.
The Saints have come through two ties already. As it stands, no Irish broadcaster has obtained the television rights for this week’s tie, nor shown their previous games.
Over 40 games in the Men’s and Women’s Premier Division and FAI Cup are covered each season between RTÉ Sport, Virgin Media and TG4, with RTÉ showing the majority of the matches.
The last televised game by RTÉ was in May, before a substantial break due to commitments to major world events including the Olympics and Euro 2024.
The next live game is scheduled for mid-September.
European matches have proven difficult for RTÉ to broadcast in recent years due to scheduling issues in the height of summer, in particular in Olympic years, as well as staffing and budgeting restraints at such times.
Shamrock Rovers will compete in the league phase of the Conference League at a minimum when the qualification process ends.
Victory over PAOK would see them reach the Europa League outright.
The group stage matches for both those competitions will be broadcast on Premier Sports, the current rights holder of both competitions in Ireland.
Any move by Shamrock Rovers to restrict RTÉ from showing their league matches would likely be met with resistance from the FAI as the LOI rights distributor.
RTÉ has not commented on the Shamrock Rovers statement.
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