Councillor Jim Ryan’s call follows the platform’s loss of signal in the last ten minutes of the Tipperary vs. Offaly game over the weekend.
He took to social media to label GAA GO as a “farce” and describe it as “not fit for purpose.”
Speaking on Tipp Today, Cllr. Ryan says some may overlook the loss of signal as Tipp had the game won, but he says it’s a matter of principle.
“Some people might turn around and say, “Look, Tipperary had the game won at that stage,” but that wouldn’t be the point because that could have been another game where the game could’ve been very close, and this isn’t the first time this actually happened, but I suppose this is the most obvious one that nearly a full ten minutes, including injury time on top of that, where you couldn’t see the game. The reception was gone; it was just a black screen in front of you. A lot of people were disappointed with that. In my opinion, we paid for a service, we didn’t get it, and I think people who bought the game last Saturday should get a refund back from the GAA and RTÉ because we didn’t get what we paid for.”
Councillor Ryan said even the quality of the match before the blackout was “appalling”.
“I had a number of people with me of an older generation, and they said that they couldn’t follow the ball. The quality on the screen was very, very poor. When you pay for something, you expect better service. I’d buy pay-as-you-view boxing fights or soccer matches on Sky Sports, and the quality is excellent. This particular scheme of the GAA GO, which depends on good broadband in the country, is not working. It’s proven that now. It was a complete farce last Saturday. Could you imagine if that was the All-Ireland Hurling Final, the Football Final, or a semi-final with only a point between the teams? I mean, the whole country would go berserk.”
