John Giles has admitted his disappointment at the decision to drop him from the RTÉ panel for Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland.
The former Ireland manager has been left off the for Saturday’s match, which has resulted in widespread criticism.
Speaking on his regular Thursday night interview on Newstalk’s Off The Ball programme Giles revealed he would have done the game for free despite completing his contractual obligations to RTÉ.
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“I made it very, very clear that I was available and I wanted to do the match. There is a contractual situation where I’m contracted to do a certain amount of matches and I have fulfilled the obligation for those matches,” said the legendary pundit.
“I was prepared to do an extra match, and made it clear there was no extra payment for that.”
His fellow pundits, Liam Brady and Eamon Dunphy have expressed their disappointment with the decision, while Giles has admitted that his future with the state broadcaster is now up in the air. This comes after Giles confirmed that he is not under contract for the rest of the qualifier campaign.
He is denied suggestions that the decision to replace him on Saturday was as a result of a contractual mix-up and admitted he would have liked a call from RTÉ’s Head of Sport Ryle Nugent.
“I’m very disappointed. It’s one of the biggest games we’ve had in recent times,” said Giles.
“I would have liked to get a call from the (RTÉ’s) Head of Sport to explain to me what the situation is.”
“It’s a match I’d love to do and I’m not doing it.”