Motherwell apologizes to supporters for moving the Rangers game to Christmas Eve.
Motherwell has expressed regret to their fans for the postponement of their Scottish Premiership match against Rangers to Christmas Eve in order to accommodate Sky Sports’ holiday football programming.
The club have acknowledged that it is a particularly inconvenient fixture change for visiting fans, and claim they were only made aware of the change an hour before the SPFL planned to announce it.
An official apology from the club to the fans was released as the decision was taken out of their hands, with Sky Sports the ultimate decision-makers on fixture scheduling.
In the official statement posted to the official club website on 27 October, Motherwell shared: “The club were informed of the decision to move our fixture against Rangers to Christmas Eve yesterday afternoon, an hour before the SPFL initially intended to announce publically.
“Whilst we fully acknowledge that the contract which is currently in place between the SPFL and our main broadcasters allows kick-off times to be moved from Saturday to Sunday midday, with an agreed notice period, we believe that moving a major fixture to this date is a special circumstance that should’ve led to additional consultation/ discussion with the club.
“We can only apologise to supporters who will be inconvenienced by this move and especially to those who will no longer be able to attend the game.
“We understand this move is particularly inconvenient for fans who had booked pre-match hospitality, which was already sold out.
“We are working with suppliers to provide an alternative offering pre and post-match. We hope to still see as many of our fans as possible at the game.”
Once again, match-attending fans come last
The lack of consideration for match-going fans by Sky Sports and other broadcasting companies is nothing new, but with each decision that passes, the complete ignorance of fans becomes more and more testing.
Ultimately, the match-going fan doesn’t matter to them in this situation. The dollar signs have lit up in their eyes at the thought of families staying in and watching the football on Christmas Eve with no regard to those who will travel across the country to watch their team play.
Plenty of uproar has emerged in England over the decision to move Chelsea’s visit to Wolves to Christmas Eve, with the Chelsea Supporters Trust writing to the Premier League, expressing their view that the fixture should not take place on that date.
As usual, the fans are treated as secondary by the companies that see an easy cash grab, but they’ll be the first to preach that football is nothing without fans. When will this madness end?
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