THE deal which the SPFL struck with BT Sport last year to broadcast the revamped League Cup was hailed as something of a coup at the time – and with some justification.
The £8 million four year contract with the satellite station was, after all, worth more than double what the previous agreement with the BBC had been.
The £150,000 which is received for each of the 13 games screened live in the Betfred-sponsored competition every season may be paltry in comparison with other tournaments in Europe. Nevertheless, the significant increase in revenue should have been warmly welcomed by Scottish clubs striving to break even during an economic downturn.
The promise of more extensive coverage will, too, have been largely responsible for securing a sponsor for the first time since 2013. Bookmakers Betfred will pay £1 million over three years to have their name associated with the League Cup.
There was no mention of any of this, though, in the statement which Aberdeen issued at the weekend expressing their reservations about both the kick-off time and venue for their semi-final against Morton next month.
The Pittodrie club is unhappy the game will get underway at 12.15pm at Hampden on Saturday, October 22. They feel it is “very regrettable” as well as “a major disadvantage to our fantastic travelling support” and will have “a very negative impact on what should be a great day out”.
It would, of course, be far better if the tie was to get underway at 3pm. That is true of all matches. But clubs cannot gratefully accept television money only to then complain about the inconvenience caused by the inevitable scheduling changes which then follow. They must accept it is the reality of the modern game.
Scotland already lags way behind the England, France, Italy, Germany and Spain when it comes to the money accrued from broadcasting deals. So to bleat about the ramifications of those which they do have in place is nonsensical.
Anyway, is the 12.15pm kick-off time for the semi-final really such a major disadvantage to Aberdeen supporters? There are no fewer than five trains as well as numerous buses from Aberdeen to Glasgow on the morning of the game which will all get them to Hampden with time to spare.
The Betfred Cup semi-final at Hampden won’t be a sell-out. But holding it at the National Stadium will allow the large number of Aberdeen and Morton supporters who want to cheer on their team on as they bid to reach the final to be accommodated.
While having a full house at Tynecastle or Easter Road would possibly generate a more intense atmosphere surely it is better to enable all of those who want to attend to see the game.
AND ANOTHER THING
HAVING once taken a call from an Evening Times reader who was seething that more colour photographs had been used in the paper’s Celtic match report than in its Rangers one (this was, he had convinced himself, clear evidence of a sinister pro-Celtic bias) Brendan Rodgers’s criticism of BT Sport’s coverage of his side’s games last week raised a smile.
The Celtic manager was bemused that controversial refereeing decisions involving Erik Sviatchenko in the Ladbrokes Premiership game against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Craig Gordon in the Betfred Cup quarter-final against Alloa had been replayed 28 and 14 times respectively by the satellite broadcaster.
Rodgers questioned why another incident in a high-profile game – he was, although he declined to mention it specifically, referring to the foul by Harry Forrester of Rangers on Jordan Marshall of Queen of the South at Ibrox last Tuesday night – had only been shown again twice.
Yet, if Sviatchenko, a centre half, and Gordon, a goalkeeper, had been sent off, as they should have been, it would have impacted greatly on Celtic’s ability to win both games. The scorelines were delicately balanced at 1-1 and 0-0 in the first half when Ross Draper and then Greig Spence were fouled.
But if Forrester, an attacking midfielder, had been red carded, as he also deserved to be, then Mark Warburton’s team, who were leading 1-0 at home in the second half, could have seen out the game comfortably. BT Sport highlighted the passages of play on the correct number of occasions each time.
ONE LAST THING
Both Hibernian and Rangers may be unhappy that the SFA have been unable to take action over the assaults their players and supporters suffered after the Scottish Cup final at Hampden back in May due, ironically, to their failure to vote for strict liability legislation.
But the four month jail term given to the so-called Rangers fan who kicked the head of a Hibs supporter as he lay on the turf last week was welcome. Hopefully more custodial sentences will be handed out to those involved in the shameful unrest.
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