Matt Maher: Premier League strangely silent on helping get games on TV
What were initially murmurings of dissent from English football’s powerbrokers at the government’s decision to delay the return of spectators have now hit deafening volume.
On Tuesday the EFL, Premier League and FA signed an open letter, nominally addressed to supporters but clearly designed to catch attention in Whitehall, reaffirming their commitment to getting supporters back into stadiums as soon as possible.
Both the EFL and Premier League have also used their social media channels to call for fans to back a petition urging the government to reconsider its stance.
All of which, of course, comes as no huge surprise when you consider Premier League clubs are losing around a combined £80million-a-month while matches continue to take place behind closed doors.
In the EFL, where there are genuine fears clubs could go out of business unless some form of rescue package is agreed, the situation is far graver.
Yet for the Premier League there is another, arguably more pressing issue, in which it is being far less vocal.
Namely, what temporary provision will be made which allows supporters to watch their teams while the turnstiles remain closed?
After reaching a compromise with broadcasters to screen every match for the first month of the season, we are back in a situation where fans may be left with no legal means of seeing their team play. None of the next three matches involving either Albion or Villa are due to be shown live in the UK. The Premier League is expected to discuss the matter further next week but that is cutting it fine, to put it mildly, for an issue which can hardly be described as a surprise.
Even had stadiums partially reopened as planned this month, there would still have been tens of thousands of season ticket holders shut out across the country. Where is the plan for them?
Granted, the Premier League’s multiple broadcast deals makes setting up a streaming service similar to the EFL’s iFollow offering problematic.
Some clubs might also fear such a scheme might set an unwanted precedent when it comes to future rights negotiations. Right now a collective agreement ensures everyone gets a decent piece of the pie yet if it ever reaches a stage where clubs agree their own deals, the gap between the bigger clubs and the rest will grow substantially. Those worries, however, are for another day.
If the Premier League cares as much about supporters as it claims, it needs to offer them all a way to watch.
