Millwall set for talks with EFL and Sky Sports as club’s grievance with broadcaster rumbles on
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
Millwall are expected to hold talks with the EFL and Sky Sports before the end of this week – as the Championship club’s grievance with the broadcaster rumbles on.
We exclusively revealed on Monday that the Lions did not want the network to televise their December 29 match against Watford at The Den.
Millwall are furious at Sky Sports for the coverage in their build up to the recent derby against QPR in SE16.
The station showed the match live – with major scrutiny on the South London club after some of their supporters booed the ‘taking of the knee’ in the preceding home fixture against Derby County.
One of Millwall’s objections is that Sky Sports’ website ran a story claiming that Gary Rowett’s players would still perform the gesture before kick off.
The Lions were left fuming that the article was not updated, despite notifying them it was incorrect.
Millwall’s players did not ‘take the knee’ – instead holding up an anti-discrimination banner. They did the same before Tuesday’s 2-0 win at Bristol City.
The Lions had asked the EFL to liaise with Sky Sports over deselecting the Watford match for coverage while the dispute is ongoing.
But the governing body are understood to have threatened legal action if the station is not allowed in. Sky Sports pay £119million a year to televise the EFL.
Live coverage of a game is worth £75,000 to each club.
Lions chief executive Steve Kavanagh and communications director Billy Taylor – along with a representative from Millwall Community Trust – are set to meet with executives from Sky Sports and the EFL later this week.
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Kick It Out is relevant to the UK not BLM. Sky Sports have taken advantage of the lockdown. The kneeling would never have been tolerated by the fans had they been in attendance at the games. BLM is relevant to the USA not the UK. We are not yet the 51st State of America. BLM supporters have vandalised Winston Churchills statue and even vandalised the Mahatma Gandhi statue. This shows what ignorant scum they are. Anyone that supports BLM should relocate to the USA where they do not recognise what is Football to us and call it Soccer. They can kneel at American Football stadiums