SCOTTISH football fans were denied the opportunity this week to watch a mouth-watering Scottish Cup replay between Hibs and Hearts (“Lennon hails his thumping derby heroes as they reach quarters”, Herald Sport, February 23) due to Uefa's diktat that no other football may be televised at the same time as their Champions League competition. This is the sort of protectionism that in many other businesses would be considered illegal.
I am sure that many Scottish football fans would have preferred to tune in to the Edinburgh derby rather than watch the exploits of Leicester or Porto, who are unlikely to command much interest outwith their own towns.
This growing tyranny from Uefa denies much-needed revenue for teams who do not share in the cash-rich Champions tournament and who are unlikely to share in this largesse in the future given Uefa's insistence on reducing the opportunities for teams from smaller nations to compete in this competition.
It used to be that European competitions were an addition to domestic fare and provided a chance for teams and fans to experience another style of football, playing, sometimes, against the great names of European football. Uefa is now in danger of turning its premier tournament into a virtual closed-shop with only the rich granted access and the great majority of nations excluded and reduced to second-class status.
This is unacceptable but to insist that only its competition be shown live on TV, regardless of who is competing, displays an arrogant disregard for most European football fans and ultimately will be damaging to the very game of which it is the guardian.
James Mills
29 Armour Square, Johnstone.
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