The 42FM

Sinead O’Carroll and Niall Kelly are in reflective form after a highly-anticipated sporting weekend fell flat.The pair were left questioning their life choices after the All-Ireland hurling final, Open Championship and World Cup final, replete with half-time show, failed to deliver.The expected buoyant mood which would carry through the week on foot of Super Sunday did not materialise. And if your mood is determined by the quality of sport on TV, do you need to reassess your priorities?Or are we in too deep; in thrall to live sport on TV every weekend, and a lot of nights during the week? Are we forever destined to plan our lives around our favorite teams and games to a degree that has become all pervasive in the era of seasons that don’t end and more matches and events than ever being broadcast?

David Sneyd dials in from America to chat to Sinead O’Carroll and Niall Kelly about the US President’s intervention in the World Cup.Our reporter on the ground thought he might get through the rest of the World Cup talking about just football - until Donald Trump decided to call his fellow president, Gianni Infantino, the Fifa version, to see about a review to overturn Folarin Balogun’s red card against Bosnia.This duly happened, allowing the striker to face Belgium on Monday. Fifa said the decision was not influenced by Trump, but the ensuing row dominated the final days of the US World Cup campaign.It also throws up questions still being considered after the US have been eliminated by Belgium.Is there shock at Trump’s act? Or was something like this grimly predictable?To what extent is it unprecedented, even in the chequered history of Fifa?Does it taint this World Cup’s integrity?What about Mauricio Pochettino? A respected coach at the elite level, where does this leave his standing in the game?What will be the trickle down effect of other teams looking to get cards overturned?Will there be consequences, lasting or otherwise, for Fifa or Infantino?

Still the biggest name in Irish athletics, Rhasidat Adeleke is set to make her long-awaited return to 400m action in America this Friday night – a major step on the road to August’s European Championships in Birmingham.Former world indoor champion, Olympian and analyst Derval O’Rourke joins Niall Kelly to chart a frustrating two years in Adeleke’s young career, which has seen the 23-year-old largely disappear from the public eye since her fourth-place finish at the Paris Olympics.Why do we know so little about her progress and plans, and is her US coaching set-up under Edrick Floréal still bringing out the best in one of Ireland’s brightest talents?What can we expect to see on her return this week, and what will it tell us about her European medal prospects this summer?With Sharlene Mawdsley in the individual form of her career, could we see two Irish athletes fighting it out for European medals in the 400m? And what can we expect from Team Ireland more generally?

Sinead O’Carroll is joined by Niall Kelly to tackle the footballing and lingering moral questions around the American World CupPre-competition concerns about swathes of empty seats and mismatches have not come to pass. Instead the World Cup has been the same vibrant and life-affirming festival of football it has nearly always been.The big stars have shone, the minnows have shown their mettle, the fans have created a magical atmosphere and even the sometimes indifferent citizens of the USA have been swept along with it all.But will we all feel so positive about this World Cup in years to come? Or will it be tethered to some of the actions of the Trump administrations, such as the treatment of the Iran team and referee Omar Artan, and whatever is to come in the next month?Or has this World Cup shown the best side of the US, despite Trump? With the America people have flocked to for generations in full technicolour display these past two weeks?

Sinéad and Gavin nail their colours to the mast as they debate their big sporting predictions for the rest of 2026 and beyond.

Sinead and Gavin discuss the Fifa president: where did he come from and how long does he plan to stick around?Infantino was elected as Fifa president in February 2016. He showed a supposedly new, more humble version of Fifa when he flew EasyJet to an IFAB meeting in the UK, saying “We are normal people and we have to behave like normal people.”He now travels on a private jet provided to him by Qatar. And Fifa recently requested a motorcade escort for their annual congress in Vancouver similar to the kind usually reserved for the Pope or the US president.Why has the head of a sporting body come to regard himself as worthy of such a show of deference? Does the Fifa presidency essentially guarantee a level of hubris, as the occupier of the office becomes further and further detached from the real world in which 99% of football supporters live?Can steps be taken to assure greater accountability for those in the role? Or are we destined to have a succession of egotistical characters speaking on behalf of the global game, while those who play, watch and love the sport roll their eyes?

Sinéad O’Carroll is joined by Niall Kelly to discuss the fallout from Munster’s appointment of Roger Randle as attack coach, and the subsequent “mutual agreement” that the deal will not go ahead.Randle was accused of raping a woman in South Africa in 1997 when he was there as a player. Randle denied the allegation and has always maintained his innocence. He was initially charged with the crime, but that charge was later dropped.In today’s episode, Sinéad and Niall consider whether Munster’s hierarchy properly thought through the likely backlash to Randle’s appointment.Committee members and commercial advisors have walked away, relations with the IRFU have been strained, supporters have been left with questions, sponsors were feeling uneasy and players have been put in an impossible position of having to answer media questions on the appointment. And now, head coach Clayton McMillan is disappointed that the coach he wanted and backed will not join him at MunsterWhat will be the lasting consequences for the province - once the biggest brand in Irish sport - both on and off the field?

Gavin and Sinéad discuss the inflation-busting prices of attending matches and other big sports events.Ryder Cup ticket prices for Adare Manor raised eyebrows, but are such levels now becoming the norm, especially for high-profile events which attract interest from the corporate and influencer world.If so, what does that do to the atmosphere at big occasions, when the committed supporters who have given sports their flavour and colour are excluded? Where will the next generation of fans come from if the price of entry is so high?And in the GAA, does removing cheaper prices for children for stand tickets put unnecessary pressure on parents, or even discourage them from attending games as a family?How has the World Cup become such a price-gouging exercise? What will the competition look and sound like as a result?Also in the pod, Gav tells us he has become a Hurling Man now, and explains why Tipp are Tipp, Cork are Cork, Kilkenny are Kilkenny, but Limerick are not Limerick.