RTÉ's Head of Sport Declan McBennett has no regrets over their decision to axe Joe Brolly from the panel for last year's All-Ireland final replay.
A mainstay of the RTE's football coverage for many years, Brolly was given the boot after the Derryman made a number of controversial remarks about referee David Gough's performance in the Dublin-Kerry drawn final.
For the replay, former Mayo boss Stephen Rochford replaced Brolly on the panel. It later emerged that Brolly's contract with the broadcasters had been ended.
Brolly has subsequently come out and criticised what he saw as the 'scripted' nature that punditry on The Sunday Game had evolved into.
But McBennett insists he wasn't concerned about how Brolly's axing would be perceived by the public and explained the rationale behind the decision.
"The decision was made and I was happy to stand over the decision and I believe it was the right decision,' he told Independent.ie.
"The optics didn't concern me. Because I'm not about the optics. To my mind, it was about putting the best people on the replay. We brought in Stephen Rochford."
He explained: "There are three reasons why you get a seat [on the panel]. Credibility, informed opinion and the ability to articulate that opinion.
"If you're a pundit and a contract gets cancelled, you have to ask yourself why. And I think if you examine those elements already mentioned, it probably answers that question for everybody.
"Part of RTÉ's remit, whether we like it or not, is to put the most credible people there. Credibility is a huge element of what we do."
