New TV deal comes with income warning for English clubs from UEFA

UEFA have announced a new three-year deal for Champions League rights with Sky and ITV - but England's top clubs face a major drop in their income from the competition if a European ruling goes against them.

The deal for 2012-2015 is understood to be worth £400million, similar to the current agreement.

But William Gaillard, adviser to UEFA president Michel Platini, said a European Court of Justice (ECJ) case could force a major shake-up in the sale of TV rights across the continent.

Gaillard said: 'This may force us to sell the rights on a Europe-wide basis, which would prevent us from identifying individual national TV pools.

'That will be bad news for clubs in big TV markets such as England.'

The Premier League also fear the case - their legal battle against Portsmouth pub landlady Karen Murphy who has used a Greek satellite decoder to screen live matches - could affect their TV income.

The European Union's advocate general Juliane Kokott has already advised that the case means that selling TV rights in separate countries within the EU goes against European law.

The case is now being dealt with by the ECJ with a decision expected in the late summer.

At the moment, UEFA splits Champions League payments among the 32 clubs in the group stage, half depending on far they progress and half on the value of their country's TV deals.

The current £400million deal with Sky and ITV for the UK rights is the biggest in Europe and has seen English clubs earn between £20million and £35million annually from the Champions League alone. Beyond 2015, the future is uncertain.

Under the new deal, ITV will have first pick of the match to show live on Tuesday night and highlights, while Sky Sports have the rights to broadcast live all Champions League matches except for the games on ITV. Sky also has the rights for delayed broadcasts and highlights on both nights.

Gaillard fears that those who say the ECJ often do not follow the advocate general's advice may be burying their head in the sand.

He said: 'Most of the time the ECJ follow what the advocate general has said, and the rest of the time partially follow that advice.'

In Scotland, where television income from the Champions League is around ?10million, and other smaller TV markets, the court case could have a positive effect.

If the case goes against the Premier League it could mean the clubs having to have one single TV deal covering the whole of Europe, rather than domestic TV rights and rights for other individual countries being sold separately.

It could also mean that no matches kicking off at 3pm on Saturday could be shown anywhere in Europe. Currently broadcasts of matches at that time are only blocked for British television, which is why some pub landlords used foreign satellite decoders.

The other alternative would be for the Premier League to throw every single match open to live TV coverage across the whole of Europe.

That would lead to opposition from those who want to keep the Saturday 3pm slot as a closed window in order to protect attendances at games.

Sports minister Hugh Robertson said the Government is putting pressure on the European Commission to maintain the current system.

Robertson said: 'I have taken the issue up directly with the European Commissioner responsible for this.'

The Premier League said in February any change resulting from the case 'would damage the interests of broadcasters and viewers of Premier League football across the EU'.

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RFU issue Foden warning

England international Ben Foden has been warned as to his future conduct by the Rugby Football Union after he receiving a police caution for causing criminal damage.

Foden met with RFU disciplinary chief Judge Jeff Blackett at his chambers on Monday afternoon to explain the incident, which occured in the early hours of March 28.

The 25-year-old was arrested following an altercation with a taxi driver while celebrating Northampton's Aviva Premiership win over Wasps in central London.

Foden accepted the police caution and Judge Blackett was satisfied the case did not warrant a full RFU disciplinary hearing.

"Ben Foden and I met this afternoon. I accepted his explanation of what occurred on the night of Sunday, March 27 and I warned him as to his future conduct," Blackett said.

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"He accepted that warning and he has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to a rugby related charity of his choosing."

Foden was arrested along with a 23-year-old in Piccadilly and taken into custody before being released.

The pair were bailed but later accepted police cautions - Foden for criminal damage and his co-accused for theft from a vehicle.

Northampton also decided to take no disciplinary action and Foden played a key role in the Saints' Heineken Cup quarter-final victory over Ulster on Sunday.

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Jeremy Hunt issues warning to BOA over financial disagreement

By Sportsmail Reporter Last updated at 11:44 AM on 27th March 2011

Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt has told the British Olympic Association to sort out their financial squabbles, declaring: 'There is no more money.'

The BOA are in dispute with the 2012 organising committee (LOCOG) over how any profits from the enterprise will be divvied up.

Making his point: Hunt has told the BOA to sort out their financial squabble

As it stands, the BOA would be entitled to a cut of any surplus after 2012, but with Paralympic losses expected to cancel out any Olympic gains, this would likely be a negligible figure.

Instead, the BOA want to take a share before the Paralympic results are taken into account and, despite the IOC ruling against them, are taking their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Should they be successful, it would require either LOCOG somehow to generate more money, or for the cash to be shifted from the wider sport budget, affecting other projects.

Hunt, the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, is also worried the conflict could cause the bodies to take their eyes off the ball in other areas.

The clock is ticking: The London Olympics kick-off in just over a year

He told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek: 'It's an extraordinary thing just over a year before the games that we're getting into this sort of dispute which, frankly, isn't going to benefit anyone. It's just going to line the pockets of lawyers.

'The BOA is fantastically important to the success of 2012. 'They have got to look after 550 athletes, it's a massive logistical operation to run that village...and they've got to run the holding camp. 'Everyone in that organisation needs to be focused on that logistical challenge.

'The second thing is I can't really see how anyone's going to be a winner from this because there is no more money. 'Sport got a very good settlement in the comprehensive spending review.

Eyes on the prize: London's 2012 chief Lord Sebastian Coe (right)

'No-one's going to be able to go back to the Treasury and ask for more money so even if the BOA win, the money's going to have to come out of another part of the sports budget or the Olympics budget. 'So I really hope everyone involved will settle this as quickly as possible and focus on what the country wants, which is 2012.'

The situation has led to speculation over the future of BOA chairman Lord Moynihan, whose position many feel would be untenable should his organisation lose. He and his chief executive, Andy Hunt, have already been excluded from LOCOG board meetings.

Asked to comment on Moynihan's position, Jeremy Hunt said: 'The BOA rightly operates at arm's length from the Government so who they have is up to them.

'But what I would say as the Culture Secretary is this is not the right argument for us to be having so close to having the Olympics in our country and we need to sort it out very quickly.'

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