Shamrock Rovers can see the light in their pursuit of Europe's group stages - but their fans are in the dark.
Tonight’s big Europa League clash against FC Shkupi in North Macedonia is not on TV or - as yet - on any streaming platform.
The Hoops are 3-1 ahead on aggregate and will be guaranteed at least the Europa Conference League group stages and €3.3 million if they progress.
READ MORE: Shamrock Rovers tipped for Euro glory by veteran of their last group stage campaign
The host country is responsible for the live feed and the game will be shown in Macedonia and Albania but, barring a late development today, what could be one of the biggest nights in Irish club history will go unseen.
Shkupi are still sore from their Irish travel experience last week when they were forced to fly in and out of Shannon rather than Dublin.
They released an extraordinary statement about it while in Ireland and that sense of injustice is believed to be a factor in the streaming standoff.
Quizzed on the lack of coverage, Hoops boss Stephen Bradley said: “It's really disappointing. Hopefully we can get a stream for the fans to watch it back home.
“It’s such a big game for the club and for Irish football, hopefully they can get to watch it.
“I don't know the ins and outs or logistics of why they can or can't show it, but we just need to focus on what's happening on the pitch.”
Quizzed on the same matter, Shamrock Rovers striker Rory Gaffney insisted he was more concerned about what happens on the pitch.
The Galway man didn't mince his words in Skopje and said: “I don’t really care if nobody watches it as long as we go through.
"I’ll remember it and everyone connected with the team will be there. It would be great, obviously, if the family can watch it, but if they can’t, I’ll tell them about it afterwards.”
RTE has instead decided to carry live coverage of St Pat's clash with CSKA Sofia in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night.
The Saints are 1-0 up after a shock win in Bulgaria and the game - at Tallaght Stadium rather than Richmond Park - will be live on the RTE News channel, the RTE News app and the RTE Player.
Despite the aggregate advantage, Bradley feels Rovers will have to improve from the first-leg if they are to stay alive in the Europa League proper.
If they get through, they play away to either Qarabag of Azerbaijan or Hungary’s Ferencvaros in the Europa League playoff next week, with the Conference League groups safely secured.
Bradley said last night: “We know what we have to do, we have to win the game. It's that simple. We’ll try and do what we do every week. That's our only focus.
“Putting ourselves in a position to progress in the Europa League, that's our aim.
“There's going to be moments in the game where they’re going to have their spells, and we're going to have to understand that and control that.
“And then there's going to be times where we're going to have to go to win the game and mix it up. It's going to take a bit of everything to win.”
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