Saturday 3pm blackout lifted for rest of season
Martyn Ziegler, Chief Sports Reporter
Friday April 03 2020, 7.00pm, The Times
The Saturday 3pm blackout has been lifted for the rest of the season to allow any matches played at that time to be screened live on television, it can be revealed.
The move is a strong indication that the footballing authorities are preparing plans to play matches behind closed doors if necessary in order to get the season completed after the postponements of games due to the coronavirus crisis.
The lifting of the blackout has been confirmed by Uefa after requests from the English and Scottish FAs.
Premier League matches kicking off at 3pm on Saturdays would now be able to be shown by broadcasters Sky and BT Sport, as well as FA Cup games by rights holders the BBC and BT Sport.
All matches involving the 72 EFL clubs could also be made available via the ifollow service which is usually blocked on Saturdays.
The blackout has been in force since the 1950s to protect attendances at matches and encourage amateur players to take part in games on Saturday afternoons.
The rule is covered by article 8 of Uefa’s regulations but only applies to those countries which request it — and now only England, Scotland and Montenegro do so.
The Uefa regulation was updated on Friday and says: “Taking into account the current exceptional circumstances, Uefa has lifted the ‘blocked hours’ protection granted to the England and Scotland for the remainder of the 2019-20 season football season, following requests from the relevant national associations as a result of measures taken in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/saturday-3pm-blackout-lifted-for-rest-of-season-0c3t7z7hk