Negotiations on funding for Casement Park had long been in extra time, but the government has blown the final whistle on Euro 2028 happening in Belfast.
It was, of course, the Conservatives who passed this particular political football to Labour when they won the general election some two months ago.
However, the now-infamous quote that we’ll hear again in the days to come was then Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris saying in 2023: “Don’t you worry, we’ll get the money”.
From that moment on, an expectation was set, but for months there had been a growing sense that the money would not be coming.
The Labour government in its latest letter—pushed out on a Friday night after evening news programmes had ended (which will prompt its own questions)—makes clear the cost now is too big and the timetable too short.
Both the redevelopment’s biggest cheerleaders and those in unionism who less willingly backed the project can now point the finger of blame at Number 10 for Northern Ireland missing out on hosting part of the tournament.
Those who feel an own goal in economic and sporting terms has been scored will make their voices heard in the days ahead.
But anger and frustration won’t change the fact that the dream of Euro 2028 matches in Belfast appears to be over, with the stadium’s future still far from clear.