Former Crystal Palace owner, Simon Jordan has said that even though the 3pm football blackout is outdated it should not be changed now simply because of Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to the Premier League.
Ronaldo, who returned to Old Trafford from Juventus this summer could make his second Manchester United debut on Saturday when the Red Devils face Newcastle.
However, the match being played at 3pm means it will not be shown on live TV by broadcasters in the United Kingdom.
Countries around the world will watch Ronaldo’s second debut, if he plays, but in the UK it will not be shown on live TV.
This policy, established since 1960s, was due to the believe that attendances would diminish in the Stadia with live football being put on TV and taking away from 3pm kick-offs.
The fact Ronaldo’s second debut will not be broadcast on live TV around the UK will only add to the frustration many fans feel about the policy, which was temporarily halted during the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to talkSPORT, former Jordan said, “We can’t sit here and say, on one hand, player power has got out of hand and then change a protocol that exits because one Herbert is rocking back to England to play games.
“He’s a fantastic footballer and people will look forward to seeing him.
“What we might be advocating is change the fixture list because Ronaldo might be playing at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
“I’m surprised the broadcasters haven’t put their flags up and said ‘hold on a second, we want to change the schedule of games and move it to 5 o’clock this game.”
Jordan added: “I do believe there is no need for a 3pm watershed because originally when it was brought in, I think Bob Lord at Burnley was the architect of it, and believed that attendances would diminish with live football being put on and taking away from 3pm kick-offs.
“That doesn’t exist anymore because you can fill stadiums ten times over. Perhaps you should change that.
“Currently they haven’t. Then what happens is these games will get broadcast at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and in Malaysia, where there is a big audience, they won’t want to pay a big bag of money to watch games that are being shown at certain times that don’t fit their audience.
“Then you will have another problem.”
