Manchester United take on Brighton and Hove Albion tonight in the Premier League in a 8.15pm kick-off.
The match is not being broadcast on TV in the UK, to much frustration among supporters unable to attend at Old Trafford.
Champions League clash
This game was originally scheduled to take place at 12.30pm back on December 18. The game was postponed due to a series of positive Covid cases at both clubs.
The Times reported in January that UEFA lifted a ban on Premier League games taking place on Champions League nights, to help the league with rescheduling.
UEFA previously had stopped top domestic leagues hosting matches simultaneously, to keep Europe’s top club competition special.
The Premier League were then able to slot United’s game in for this week’s game, February 15, with the viewers losing out.
BT Sport had the rights to the game, they were due to show United v Brighton back in December.
The channel has been forced to drop it, as UEFA’s generosity in allowing the match to take place, does not extend to allowing it to be broadcast at the expense of losing viewers for the Champions League.
BT Sport is the Champions League broadcaster in the UK, and they have effectively had to drop the United game from their schedule, with the Champions League taking priority.
UEFA want as many eyes on the Champions League as possible, and there is a big game kicking off tonight, with Paris Saint-Germain hosting Real Madrid in their last 16 tie.
Fans lose out
The inflexibility is frustrating for fans, as while UEFA’s attitude is understandable from a self-serving perspective, the fans lose out.
In 2022 there is no real reason why viewers should not be able to watch their team. Many supporters pay costly prescription services to Sky Sports, BT Sport, and Amazon Prime, and then still find themselves in a situation where several games are unwatchable.
This applies also to the outdated 3pm Premier League blackout, and it is high time a more modern solution is found to enable supporters to watch the games.
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