Posted on 21st October 2026
Sunday night kick-offs: “Fans deserve better”
Matchgoing fans who contribute to the game’s spectacle deserve better, say Manchester United supporters, following the announcement of a Sunday night away game in London.
Manchester United’s trip to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace in December was one of the many games moved for broadcast in the latest round of TV selections announced earlier this week.
Now the decision of the broadcasters TNT and league to move the game to a 7pm kick-off time on a Sunday evening (13th December) has drawn criticism.
Manchester United Supporters’ Trust said: “Once again, matchgoing supporters come last. A 7pm Sunday kick-off at Crystal Palace leaves United fans facing a very late journey home or an expensive overnight stay, with consequences for work, school and family commitments.
“Palace’s European commitments explain playing on Sunday, but why not earlier? Supporters have repeatedly challenged this antisocial slot, and the Premier League previously assured us it did not want this slot to become established.
“The fans who create the atmosphere broadcasters value deserve better.
“We call on the Premier League, clubs and broadcasters to agree meaningful safeguards that put supporters’ needs into fixture scheduling.”
While matchgoing supporters in the Premier League are accustomed to games being moved for TV – more than half of the Premier League’s 380 games are now moved from the traditional Saturday afternoon slot for TV broadcast – anti-social kick-off times such as this remain unpopular.
Fan discontent on this slot comes as no surprise: Sunday 6pm is one of the Women’s Super League’s current TV slots and it is not popular with matchgoers because of all the obvious difficulties it causes.
Earlier this year, the FSA and supporter representatives met with Sky Sports executives to learn more about their decision-making and make the case for greater consideration of matchgoing fans in TV scheduling. You can read the notes from that meeting here.
FSA chair Tom Greatrex said: “We welcome the opportunity to have a constructive and honest discussion with Sky about the real impact that broadcast scheduling decisions have on match-going supporters.”
“Fans understand there are complexities involved, but there is a clear and growing feeling that the balance has shifted too far away from those who attend games week in, week out. Practical changes – particularly around earlier notice and greater transparency – would make a significant difference.”
Supporter representatives from the FSA’s broadcast working group have also repeatedly reached out to TNT Sports for a meeting but as of the time of publication they have ignored our offers.
