October 27 – Liverpool fans are doing it, so are those of Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Leeds United and a raft of others. Premier League fans across the country are boycotting pay-per-view games and are instead raising money for charity, so far exceeding £300,000.
Sky and BT Sport and have been broadcasting most Premier League games to their subscribers as a temporary measure due to the barring of spectators as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But under a new scheme recently introduced, matches not already been selected for broadcast in October are available only for purchase via PPV platforms at £14.95 per game.
That has caused outrage, with fans having to pay out even more money for TV football subscriptions this season.
There have so far been nine pay-per-view games since the model started but BT Sport and Sky Sports reportedly are prepared to scrap it because of concerns about the damage it is doing to their reputation.
Liverpool fans raised more than £120,000 for food banks after their 2-1 victory against Sheffield United on Saturday while Leeds fans donated £57,000 instead of paying to watch their side win 3-0 at Aston Villa on Friday.
The NUFC Fans Food Bank group has made more than £60,000 after fans boycotted Newcastle’s 4-1 defeat against Manchester United last weekend, while Tottenham fans have already raised in the region of £16,000 despite their first pay-pay-view game not being until their home match against Brighton on November 1.
Martin Cloake, the co-chair of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, said their involvement had come from “fan anger” and “that there was also a growing realisation that food banks really need our help”.
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