BT Sport Want Probe Into Gers Snub

[ian1964 10,415]

[pete 2,499]

That will be excellent as long as they are willing to listen.

[ian1964 10,415]

BAFFLED BT Sport are seeking answers from the SPFL after Rangers breached the terms of the broadcaster’s multi-million contract with the Scottish game.

 

The TV giants want clarification from Hampden chiefs after being snubbed by the Ibrox club.

 

Rangers refused to co-operate with BT Sport during the channel’s live transmission of the Glasgow side’s 1-0 win over Inverness Caley Thistle last Friday night.

 

And Record Sport understands the non-appearance of boss Mark Warburton in front of the cameras concluded a chain of events which has broken the station’s patience and they have now taken the matter up with the game’s rulers.

 

Warburton and Rangers are believed to have first taken umbrage with BT Sport after comments made by analyst Chris Sutton last month.

 

The former England striker had criticised the Ibrox manager for team selection and tactics and also questioned his abilities in the role.

 

With the situation ongoing and talks having taken place to resolve the situation before Friday’s game in the Highlands, the channel were informed that a planned broadcast of an interview scheduled in their pre-slot with a player, believed to be keeper Wes Foderingham, was cancelled.

 

Warburton was also then made unavailable to do the pre-match interview at the stadium for the station.

 

Record Sport understands the terms of the contract between BT Sport and the clubs do NOT include these additional segments.

 

However, with the large finances involved which have been brought to the table by BT Sport in their long-term deal, goodwill from all member clubs who have benefitted financially from the investment of the broadcaster has ensured that these interviews and features with selected players and managers regularly take place.

 

Essentially, Rangers were under NO obligation to grant these particular requests.

 

But, crucially, BT Sport DO have a post-match interview with a member of the management-team from each participating club after live matches inserted into their contractual agreement with the SPFL.

 

And, despite a request being made after full time by the station’s floor manager on the night in Inverness, the fact neither Warburton nor any of his backroom team appeared to speak in front of the camera leaving a key slot blank has now brought matters to a head.

 

BT Sport now plan crunch talks with the SPFL having had the conditions of their big-money agreement ignored by a member club.

 

The channel have made a massive contribution to Scottish football having agreed a deal worth, alongside Sky Sports, a combined figure of around £7 million to pump into the game until 2020.

 

In addition, BT Sport shelled out a figure in the region of £8 million in the summer to the SPFL to obtain the rights to the Betfred Cup.

 

The station is set to broadcast Rangers’ clash with Celtic from Hampden Park on Sunday.

 

With finances tight in the Scottish game, the investment made by the channel is seen as vital to the running of most clubs in the country.

 

Ironically, BT Sport were also responsible for transmitting a large number of Rangers away games from remote destinations around the country into the homes of supporters while the club climbed through League Two, League One and the Championship.

 

Record Sport understands the channel had separate discussions with Rangers and the SPFL prior to Friday to try and iron-out any issues, but the snub in the Highlands has now dramatically altered the picture.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bt-sport-demand-answers-spfl-9059334

[ian1964 10,415]

Chris Sutton slams 'petulant' Mark Warburton after Rangers Friday night BT boycott

 

06:00, 17 Oct 2016

Updated 07:30, 17 Oct 2016

By Craig Swan

 

GERS boss Warburton shunned BT after the televised clash with Inverness and has previously dismissed Sutton's punditry.

 

CHRIS SUTTON last night insisted Mark Warburton’s respect campaign has gone out of the window after his blanking of BT Sport.

 

And the Record Sport columnist can’t understand why the Rangers manager won’t just front him or his colleagues up if he has an issue with their views.

 

Sutton was a member of the BT team at Inverness on Friday night for their coverage of the match against Rangers in the Highlands.

 

The no-show of Warburton or any of his managerial team after the game for interview has sent the broadcaster to the SPFL to seek clarification on their contractual rights in the multi-million deal they have with the Scottish game.

 

Sutton, though, is miffed at the Ibrox stance.

 

And he feels Warburton’s absence from the camera shows a blatant disrespect towards a major investor in the game and smacks of a petty attitude.

 

Sutton said: “What sort of broadcasting are we going to have in Scotland if you can only say what people at football clubs want to hear?

 

“That goes against free speech. Without that and a democracy, it goes against the principles of what the country is about.

 

“You might as well not go on air. Or just show the game and not have an opinion.

 

“Mark likes to use the word respect.

 

“This is a guy who confronted referee John Beaton in a rage on the pitch at Pittodrie, that lacks respect

 

“Now he has shown that he has no respect for BT Sport, a company who has invested an awful lot of money into the game.

 

“Football clubs should have no control over what a newspaper writes or what a TV channel says. If they do, it becomes a dictatorship.

 

“We take pride in what we say, we are extremely passionate about Scottish football and I don’t think we can be accused of being biased to anyone.

 

“People point to the fact I’m a former Celtic player. So what? Last season, I was highly critical of Ronny Deila’s work.

 

“I was critical of Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawwell for sticking with Deila for too long and I was critical of many of Celtic’s performances, just as I praised them when they played well.

 

“At Inverness the other night, most of the post-match was taking up by discussing how well Rangers had played to get their win. The programme was extremely positive about the performance.

 

“They are rightly praised if they do well and criticised if they don’t, just like any club in any country on ant TV channel in the world.

 

“I try to give a balanced view and we are meticulous in our approach. We don’t just turn up, we take care, try to engage the public and make our programmes watchable.”

 

Sutton can’t understand the approach of Warburton.

 

The Rangers manager dismissed his opinions a few weeks ago saying he would only listen to people he respected.

 

Sutton says Warburton is perfectly entitled to that stance, but then responded: “He is entitled to defend himself just as every manager I’ve played under has done, rather than acting cloak and dagger and be cryptic.

 

“To me, it’s petulant.

 

“Be specific because, if it’s down to me, I’m as in the dark as anyone. Is it me or someone else? What’s the actual issue?

 

“The press conference last week where I thought Mark looked like a small child after being urged to leave the room was a disagreement with Sky.

 

“He should have taken control of the situation. Like a Walter Smith would have done.

 

“Yet I believe Mark then did an interview with Sky after the game in Inverness.

 

“So the Sky reporter is stopped in his tracks, slapped down and yet Mark speaks to them.

 

“Wouldn’t it be courteous to be told why that happened?

 

“Incidentally, that press conference incident happened after questions about Joey Barton.

 

“Barton was Warburton’s marquee signing in the summer, he’s hardly played and now he’s not there anymore.

 

“Whatever the reasons behind it, people like myself are asking questions and why he signed him.

 

“What do Rangers expect? It’s only natural.

 

“I’ve been there before. People questioned why Chelsea signed me for £10 million after I had a shocker.

 

“Did i like it? No. But did I accept it had to happen? Of course.

 

“Why wouldn’t you ask questions when a big-money signing doesn’t perform?

 

“As the Rangers manager, Mark has every right to pull me apart on something I have said.

 

“He can strip it back, take issue and explain why it’s bang out of order.

 

“But he hasn’t. Why not?”

 

When asked if he had tried to speak directly with Warburton, as he did with Deila last term, Sutton said: “Yes I have spoken to Mark after the Queen of the South game, but that was a private conversation and I am not willing to divulge the details. That’s not acceptable practice.”

 

But he added: “I tried to contact Mark again since Inverness and he has not responded.

 

“Maybe, he’s been busy. I understand that. We all have busy diaries. But if he has a problem, why can’t it be sorted man-to-man?”

 

Sutton insists he will not change from giving honest assessments and concluded: “I can’t answer what would happen without TV money, but what I can do is stay honest in my opinions.

 

“After Rangers lost 5-1 at Celtic, Mark said there was no gulf. I took issue with that.

 

“He defended Barton earlier in the season over comments, now we’re asking why he’s not involved. Natural.

 

“I said Mark would be under big pressure regards his job if Rangers had lost to Queen of the South and Aberdeen in two games after the Celtic defeat. It didn’t happen, but I believe it would have been.

 

“I said Mark’s team is very good on eye, but a bit one-dimensional. I stick by that.

 

“The football can also be slick at times and impressive. It was in Inverness for long spells and I stated this fact. It was an excellent win.

 

“You have to say what you see.

 

“What is supposed to happen when Rangers lose games and don’t play well?

 

“Do you say, well done to the players, well done to Mark and well done to Rangers. Great stuff. We’ll be back after the adverts. That’s just silly.”

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/chris-sutton-slams-petulant-mark-9059092

[der Berliner 3,246]

For some reason I had a song ringing in my ear reading this (well, the refrain at least) ...

 

[video=youtube;5pwzy-oVx7k]

[StuGers 477]

Hopefully this all ends with Sutton getting the sack for being a bellend.

[ranger_syntax 3,770]

Sutton said: “What sort of broadcasting are we going to have in Scotland if you can only say what people at football clubs want to hear?

 

“That goes against free speech. Without that and a democracy, it goes against the principles of what the country is about."

 

F.A.O. Simpleton: No it does not.

[der Berliner 3,246]

Journalists, as well as those posing as such, have not only freedoms and rights, but also responsibilities. In Scotland and not least amongst the sports journalists, you would have to search hard and long for the latter.

[calscot 0]

The easy solution would be to ban Sutton from Rangers related broadcasting. The guy has openly shown that he has a dislike of Rangers that affects his work and is therefore incapable of being professional.

 

The weird thing is that it's so transparently obvious, that you have to wonder why they just didn't do that after a quick internal inquiry instead of wanting one from the SPFL?

 

It seems that a lack of professionalism and indeed any sense at all is totally missing from the media industry in general. Not many industries are all that great at self regulation, but the media seems to be by far the worst.

[ian1964 10,415]

Hopefully this all ends with Sutton getting the sack for being a bellend.

 

BT Sport backs him 100% though!,he won't be going anywhere soon!

 

 

THE BT Sport Family Stand at Celtic Park offers a great variety of pre-match entertainment and treats for the kids on arrival ahead of every home match with a great selection of seats still available for the 2016/17 season.

 

From face-painting and fairground attractions in the concourse, to visits from first-team players and official club mascot, Hoopy the Huddle Hound - there’s always plenty of fun to be had during the build-up to kick-off!

 

There are some fantastic seats available to buy for the 2016/17 Season in the BT Sport Family Stand at Celtic Park (Areas 115-116 Lisbon Lions Lower), perfect for families looking to take in matchdays together throughout the season.

Edited October 17, 2016 by ian1964