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Publication Date: Friday, October 9, 2020, 3:16 AM
Gary Neville has criticized the Premier League’s decision to charge fans for watching games that were not selected for live coverage in October.
The interim measure was confirmed on Friday after a club meeting, and means that non-televised games will be available via the BT Sport Box Office or Sky Sports Box Office platforms, for a reported price of £ 14.95 per game.
Work had to be done on a solution for the projection of the matches after the Government ruled out the expected return of the spectators from October 1 due to the increase in cases of coronavirus.
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The Premier League said in a statement: “The Premier League confirmed today that all matches until the end of October will continue to be available for fans to watch live in the UK.
Under these new arrangements, the current live match selections will remain in place and will air normally.
“In addition, the five matches per round that have not yet been selected will be available to fans on a pay-per-view basis, accessed through the BT Sport Box Office and Sky Sports Box Office platforms.
“The clubs today agreed on this interim solution so that all fans can continue to see their teams live.
“The Premier League has worked closely with Sky Sports and BT Sport to provide this arrangement and is grateful for their support. The agreement will be reviewed periodically in consultation with the clubs and in accordance with decisions made by the Government regarding the return of spectators to the stadiums.
“Football is not the same without supporters in games. The Premier League and our clubs remain committed to the safe return of fans as soon as possible. “
However, the decision has already received some criticism.
“This is a bad decision by @premierleague to charge £ 14.95 for individual matches that have been shown free for 6 months!” Manchester United great expert and Sky expert Gary Neville said in Twitter.
This is a really bad move from the @premierleague to charge £ 14.95 for individual matches that have been shown free for 6 months.
– Gary Neville (@ GNev2) October 9, 2020
Last weekend’s Premier League matches were broadcast live on Sky Sports or BT.
In September, the games were broadcast on those two stations plus Amazon and the BBC.
All 92 games of the restarted 2019-20 season were televised, and 33 of those games were made available for free.
The Premier League joined forces with the EFL and the Football Association to ask the Government to provide “clarity” on the roadmap for fans to return to the stadiums safely.
The organization’s president, Gary Hoffman, is part of the Sports Technology and Innovation Group (STIG), which looks at how technology can be leveraged to get fans back to venues.
It is understood that each match will take place on either BT or Sky’s pay-per-view platform, rather than both at the same time.
Details of the broadcasting arrangements are due to arrive later on Friday, the Premier League said.
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