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BT Sport deal ‘could make football more unequal’

ECA chief fears for clubs who miss out on Champions League

English clubs should be wary of the “huge windfall” from BT Sport’s staggering new Champions League deal widening the gap between the biggest clubs and the rest in domestic football, a senior figure in European football warned on Monday.

The £897 million deal, running from 2015-18, should see English clubs’ earnings from the Champions League increase by £15m to £20m a year. It will cover both the Champions League and Europa League, and is more than double the £400m currently paid by Sky and ITV.

Umberto Gandini, organising director of AC Milan and first vice-president of the European Clubs’ Association, believes that the riches of the Champions League will now need to be spread more widely.

He also sees it as an example of why there is little appetite among Europe’s elite clubs for a breakaway competition.

Gandini said: “This is great, great news for the Premier League clubs and, if you add up the Premier League’s domestic and overseas broadcasting contracts, the matchday revenues and commercial revenues then the business is looking very strong.

“But what I see as a problem is because of the great advantage the Champions League gives you in the domestic leagues, you are hearing people say you need to enlarge participation in the Champions League.

“I believe the way it is structured right now is very good and the new English contract is a great example of that, but it would be wise to address the problem of (income to) the Europa League, we have to consider that.

“We should look at the Europa League and the possibility for clubs in that competition to have a better share of the European football bonanza as an insurance policy, especially for those clubs who do not always qualify for the Champions League but has Champions League costs.”

Gandini believes the impact of money from European football is likely to have an even greater effect now that Uefa’s financial fair play regulations are in force, meaning that clubs can, theoretically at least, no longer rely on wealthy benefactors to cover huge losses.

The success of BT Sport means Sky will be even more determined to keep its Premier League rights — its current deal expires in 2016, so England’s top flight is likely to maintain or even increase the value of its rights, which total a record £5.5 billion over three years.

Football Supporters Federation chief executive Kevin Miles said that the deal could hit fans in the pocket.

“BT will be looking for a return on their hefty three-year investment and that may mean rising subscription rates, causing a pain in the already stretched wallets of fans,” said Miles, who lamented the fact that neither the Champions League final nor the Europa League final are on the Government’s list of “crown jewel” sport events which must be shown live for free.

“If European club football on the box isn’t your cup of tea, then you’re all right.

“But if it is then the cost of watching football — even in your front room — just went up, again. Are we to expect that Sky subscriptions will come down to reflect the lack of European football on their channels?”

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