NIALL QUINN has blasted the Government’s refusal to help football with funds from the betting levy as bordering on “discrimination”. And the former Ireland striker insisted the State’s case against helping soccer by using the cash — which is raised from the tax imposed on all bets placed in Ireland — is full of holes. Currently, the charge — which is two per cent of all bets placed online or with high street bookies — is used to support the horse and greyhound racing industries. In Budget 2025, it emerged that both sports will receive a total of €99.1million from the taxpayer this year — with horse racing receiving €79.3m and €19.8m going to the greyhound industry. Since the levy was introduced in 2001, the two sports have received €1.8billion in State support. Ex-Arsenal and Manchester City forward Quinn said the success of Irish horse racing proves that the levy works. And given an estimated 30 per cent of all bets in Ireland are placed on football matches, he added it is only fair the sport should benefit from the levy. Quinn said: “Football is generating all this revenue and yet Irish football isn’t getting any of its own pie. “The precedent has been set. Look what can happen to an industry, like horse racing when you give them their fair share of that pie. "Isn’t it brilliant? And I’m not knocking them. “They’re the example. You, the Government, have made them the example. "You have shown how the levy can work, now show it for the other sports that are bet on. “It borders on the point of discrimination by not doing it, by giving it to one set of sports but not giving it to football when huge amounts of money are bet on football.” And Quinn believes the Government’s own arguments against funding football via the betting levy merit more scrutiny. The Dubliner, who played 92 times for his country, said: “There was a bit of fear in the air from political people I spoke to, that it is hard to fund the League of Ireland because it is privately owned. “But my point was, were all the horses that won in Cheltenham owned by the county council?” He disagreed with statements from the Department of Finance in 2022, linking the funding of sports from the betting levy to problem gambling. These became public via a Freedom of Information request, made when the then-Minister for Sport Jack Chambers sought to use the levy for sporting infrastructure. It had been reported in the media that the Department was “unlikely to be enthusiastic about any proposal to hypothecate a tax for sports infrastructure”. It was also stated that this was due to “negative consequences of problem gambling”. WISH I'D BEEN TOLD Quinn said he could understand their concerns, but added he wished someone in Government had said this to him when he was FAI interim deputy CEO in 2020. He said: “What should have gone back to them is why are you still taking the levy, why are you still taking the money yourselves, what are you doing with it if you are not giving it to us. "I’m kind of half-glad I wasn’t there, I would’ve said, ‘OK, give the money back to the problem gamblers because you’re not doing that’. “They’re taking the levy, they’re doing other things with it, they’re giving some of it to racing, but huge amounts of bets are going on football. “I understand there’s problem gambling, but the day the Government stops taking the levy is the day I’ll stop saying give it to football.” Quinn insisted he would be happy to join further efforts for football to receive greater funding if asked, though his main focus at the moment is working with daughter Ashling on her Team Taca podcast. The Ireland legend has no plans to return to TV punditry work. He said: “I had three years left in my Sky contract when I stopped. The game has changed. “I was doing a lot of Man City games at the end and how many times can you say Pep Guardiola is a great coach? The game has changed. “I just felt I didn’t have enough to offer. When the goalkeeper and the two centre-halves are getting the most touches of the ball on the deck, you’re going, ‘That’s not the game that I played’. “I think you have to have a real understanding of what you’re doing to go on TV and talk about it. “I’m not grumpy about it. I went to the last international and I was jumping out of my seat because we were crossing the ball again. “Am I a dinosaur for that? For wanting the crowd excited and cheering goals? Maybe I am. "I wasn’t bored. I don’t know enough about the changes in the game since my time. “I did some work with Virgin Media and Damien Delaney was beside me and talking about how it is now in the dressing room and I was thinking, ‘This is so alien to me’. “It was appropriate that someone should get my place who can do what is needed today. “Financially it mightn’t have made the most sense but for my head and my own ambitions at this stage in my life, it was the right thing to do.”   NIALL QUINN was speaking ahead of the Three Wise Men Talking Proper Football event in Vicar Street on April 28. Quinn, John Giles and Liam Brady will be on stage with all proceeds going to the Irish Professional Footballers’ Benevolent Association.