Posted on 12th February 2025
“Unacceptable”: Leeds and Pompey fans react to latest TV move
Earlier this week Leeds United manager Daniel Farke hit out at TV scheduling in the EFL Championship and supporter groups have backed him up, calling for better treatment.
In the latest round of TV picks in the Championship, Leeds United’s visit to Fratton Park to take on Portsmouth was moved to a Sunday (9th March) midday kick-off – making public transport impossible for Leeds fans travelling to the game that day.
That TV selection caused Pompey’s following midweek game to be moved from Tuesday night to Wednesday evening for player recovery – meaning one broadcast slot has created problems for three sets of fans across two games.
Chair of Pompey Supporters Trust Donal Vass said: “Portsmouth and Leeds are backed by two of the best fanbases in the country and will undoubtedly create a superb atmosphere for this game. But although Sky Sports and ITV are keen to broadcast this to their TV audiences, they’ve made it harder for those matchgoing fans to attend.
“The new TV deal has given fans slightly more notice of changes, but it’s still clear that little-to-no consideration is given to the impact of rearrangements on travelling fans.
“A recent Sky Sports and Sky Zero campaign encouraged supporters to ‘protect the sports they love from climate change by reducing their carbon footprint when travelling to venues’. But because of this change, away fans can no longer get from Leeds to Portsmouth by train before kick-off, forcing fans off of public transport and into cars.
“We back the FSA’s call for matchgoing fans to be treated with more respect – they are the lifeblood of our game, and should never be taken for granted.”
Leeds United supporters have also criticised the move and the sheer volume of televised games included in the EFL’s new deal.
Leeds United Supporters Trust said: “We are disappointed by the decision to move our game at Portsmouth, yet another example in a long line demonstrating the lack of consideration for match-going fans by the broadcasters.”
“The new kick-off time means there are limited transportation options to get to the game, with no trains leaving Leeds in time to make the start of the match.
“The increased notice period of fixture changes imposed by the Football League and Sky is a welcome one, but this is drastically undermined by implementing kick-off times that are inconvenient at best, or even impossible to attend for some supporters.
“Fans are consistently being failed by these fixture changes and we need to see more action being taken by the authorities to implement a basic level of consideration for logistics and impact on fan attendance.
“While broadcasters are allowed to call the shots, however, we will continue to see the exploitation of match-going fan loyalty. Leeds supporters will sell out our allocation, Sky will get their atmosphere, and nothing will change.
“We might also point out the hypocrisy of promoting green and sustainable initiatives while also removing more sustainable transport options as a result of fixture changes. Transport is by far the largest carbon contributor that occurs as a by-product of staging football matches.
“You do wonder how serious Sky actually are about addressing their impact on the environment.”
