This weekend, something dramatic happened which forced a former Premier League star to apologise on Live TV.
The adrenaline rush produced one of the most surprising on-air moments seen in Irish football coverage. Ireland had been fighting for their place in the play-off.
However, the tension reached its peak in stoppage time. A late winner sent the nation into chaos. The celebrations erupted on screens, in stadiums and across living rooms.
That included the pundits who watched every twist with nerves on edge. Meanwhile, the background to the outburst came from an earlier incident.
Hungary had taken the lead in the second half. Their captain Dominik Szoboszlai turned towards the Irish fans and mocked them with a crying gesture.
It mirrored the one Cristiano Ronaldo received after Portugal lost to Ireland a week earlier. The gesture stuck in the minds of supporters. It lit a fuse that carried through the entire game.
Still, the real explosion came when Ireland scored deep into injury time. The winning goal arrived in the 96th minute, completing a hat-trick from the hero of the night Troy Parrott.
One pundit ran around the set in disbelief and in the spur of the moment, an insult slipped out on live television.
Kevin Doyle, former Premier League striker and Republic of Ireland international, appeared to yell “Suck on that you Liverpool c***” in reference to Hungarian captain Dominik Szoboszlai.
The outburst came seconds after he sprinted around the RTÉ Sport studio following Troy Parrott’s dramatic winner.
According to those watching, the comment stunned the room. It was unclear whether Doyle aimed the jab specifically at Szoboszlai or at Hungary’s left-back Milos Kerkez, who also plays for Liverpool.
At the same time, Doyle realised instantly what he had said. He turned to fellow pundit Didi Hamann who is a former Liverpool midfielder and apologised straight away.
Thus, Ireland will learn their World Cup play-off semi-final opponents on Thursday. The match will be a single-leg tie, with a place in next year’s tournament in North America at stake.
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