Eamon Dunphy surpassed even the shock levels of the "bishop and the nightie" affair during his analysis of the Republic of Ireland v Cameroon match on Saturday.
About 1,300 viewers contacted the station to complain after Mr Dunphy said he wanted Ireland to lose, to shock the FAI into taking action to improve itself.
He said he would hate for the team to get through the group "and to come home covered in glory and for nobody to question the FAI".
"That's why I wanted them to lose against Cameroon today and that's why I want to see Germany beat them on Wednesday. Not because I want the players to do badly but because I want to see the game in this country given a chance to prosper."
An RTÉ spokesman said the response from viewers was "unprecedented". He said he could think of nothing in recent years to compare with the volume of calls.
Up to now, one of the most talked-about controversies on RTÉ was a Late Late Show episode which spawned the "bishop and the nightie" scandal in 1966. But while the Bishop of Clonfert condemned the programme from the pulpit, only two people rang the station to complain that night.
Yesterday, Mr Dunphy said he had no regrets. He was aware that RTÉ had received complaints but said "people can complain if they want. It's a game of football."
Many callers complained that Mr Dunphy was unpatriotic, while others said he was "being controversial for controversy's sake". Callers also mentioned that Mr Dunphy was working on a book with Roy Keane - the autobiography of the former Republic of Ireland captain is to be published shortly by Penguin. It has been reported that he received a six-figure advance for the work.
On the accusations of being unpatriotic, Mr Dunphy said: "I have my own form of patriotism. I want them to do well."
He said he took the long-term view and felt that if the team did well now the problems which caused the departure of Roy Keane would never be addressed.
Mr Dunphy repeated his views in his column in yesterday's Ireland on Sunday under a headline, "Call me a traitor but I can't cheer my country now".
"And I will be supporting Germany and Saudi Arabia in the contests ahead," he wrote.
About half the complaints to RTÉ came after the match ended on Saturday morning; the rest came after Mr Dunphy's more emphatic comments on the highlights programme that evening.
Mr Dunphy is no stranger to controversy during World Cup campaigns. In 1990 he was heavily criticised for his stance against manager Jack Charlton.
