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Gary Lineker in agreement with Marcelo Bielsa’s press conference quote

Gary Lineker is in agreement with Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa’s press conference quote over a much debated about topic this week.

It’s very rare that his side play during the Saturday blackout in the Premier League, but since it’s been a big talking point, he’s given his verdict on it.

Games played at 3pm on a Saturday are not shown live on TV, yet everyone else in other countries can watch it, and this will affect the so-called homecoming of Cristiano Ronaldo against Newcastle United this weekend.

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Marcelo Bielsa labelled the blackout as “magnificent” in his press conference on Friday afternoon, and of course it’s won him a lot of praise.

One person that really took a liking to his quote was Gary Lineker, who shared his instant reaction on his personal Twitter account.

The Match of the Day presenter has shared the same view in the past, previously pointing out just how successful the programme has become during all of these years on a Saturday evening.

Bielsa says the Saturday 3pm TV blackout rule in England is “magnificent” – because it prioritises the game over commercial income and business interests.

MORE ON THE BLACKOUT

There has been some criticism with Man Utd’s game against Newcastle will not be shown live on the television because of the ‘3pm blackout’, which prevents matches taking place during 2:45 and 5:15 from being broadcast.

The blackout came about when league football’s first dalliance with live televised football came in 1960, when the Football League signed a contract with ITV to show a live match on Saturday evenings. The League was reticent because attendances had already been falling consistently for a decade since their post-war peak in 1950, and when the first match between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers turned out to be a disappointment both in terms of ratings and match attendance, the experiment was quickly dropped.

It was then 23 years before live league football returned to television screens in England, and even when Match of the Day was launched in 1964, the Burnley chairman Bob Lord refused to allow cameras into Turf Moor, and the Clarets consequently didn’t make their televised debut until December 1967. TV cameras remained to be viewed with a considerable amount of scepticism by clubs, and for many years, especially with crowds continuing to fall after regular televised highlights began.

It continues to cause anger however with the financial gap between the biggest and the rest is a regular debate, with matches being scattered across the weekend schedule for the benefit of broadcasters.

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The Covid pandemic hit in March 2020 and football had no fans in the stands, so the decision was made to allow all top flight matches to be shown live on the TV, while EFL clubs were given dispensation to screen their matches through their iFollow service. This made sense.

However now we’re back to normal, the 3pm blackout sets in, but critics argue that you can watch a 3pm kick off on a Saturday afternoon anywhere in the world apart from the country in which the match is actually taking place.

England’s football ecosystem depends upon it. Clubs further down the leagues are increasingly dependent on match-day revenues, in the National League, teams only receive £7,000 per home appearance and £1,000 per away appearance for live televised matches, an amount that is dwarfed by their match-day income.

Below this level, broadcasting money received by clubs comes from (very) occasional appearances on the television in the FA Cup.

It’s hard to wonder what the exact effect on lower-division clubs would be if the 3pm blackout ended. Average spend of a match-going non league fan to be £20-£30 per match for entrance, refreshments etc, a small number of people withdrawing their support would cost each club tens of thousands of pounds over the course of a season that they simply cannot afford to lose, while also diminishing the fact the Saturdays afternoon are for ‘going to the football’.

The unpredictability of the transfer window means that it was too late for any broadcaster to selected the game in which Cristiano Ronaldo would make his debut. Games had already been picked, for this weekend it’s Chelsea v Aston Villa, Crystal Palace v Tottenham, Leeds v Liverpool and Everton v Burnley.

As mentioned, Gary Lineker was in agreement with Marcelo Bielsa’s press conference quote, this is how fans reacted…

@treble99united: It’s 2021 and there’s still people who think you can’t watch 3pm PL kick offs if you live in the UK 😂

@luke83m: I agree but would be nice if you could watch as part of your sky package without having to find streams that keep failing or get taken down

@TariqJabbar80: I 100% agree but thank god for iptv 😂

@John1919Wakelam: I disagree its keeps England in the dark ages we are the only country still having a blackout.

@JakeTaylor200: Yet we have a pyramid that’s in better shape than any other in Europe…

@kochywhite: He should run FIFA. but, there’s no chance he could be arsed.

@CharlieMyers888: He is just the best!

@CalumRobinson23: I love him so much

@srodgers87: 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 best comment made to date!

@acoopasaur: God has spoken I guess

@burdinho: it’s hard to disagree with any of his worldview…

@keith_kelly30: What a man

@ashlaurenn_: I would die for this man

@gazLUFC4: The king speaks. You fucking listen

@QuadRaphinha: Marcelo Bielsa being good and correct again

@oisindoherty03: This. Everyone going mental this week just because nobody can watch Ronaldo play, dry up. If it wasn’t for this rule grassroots football would be ruined.

@bruceschoenfeld: I absolutely agree. But it’s easy for me to say with online access to *every PL game* from an ocean away.

@smord84: I might dislike Leeds but couldn’t agree with Bielsa more!

@Brooks1886: #Bielsa knows. Most of us watch plenty of football on TV, but football is more than a TV show, if you experience it purely from Sky/BT you’re missing the magic. The local game, & facilities, have improved immensely, I’d encourage anyone to get out & support local clubs.

@liamb0117: Ngl I’ve warmed a lot to Bielsa in the last year

@williamyoung95: He’s bang on. People moan (usually fans of the big clubs, shock horror), but without the blackout a lot of clubs would be in trouble.

@jcorrigangolf: I think I would just let Bielsa run the world. It would be bloody knackering. But it would be so more fulfilling

@jay_lindsay11: Gets it more than most

@liampsmith91: The 3pm blackout allows us to have the best football pyramid in the world, that is THE reason, plus I’m up for anything that makes it harder to watch Forest when I don’t go to the match

@indianasc0nes: He just *gets* it doesn’t he? Genuinely gets what football and the fans are about

@ell_spencex: Bielsa never misses does he

@Conord93lufc: England arguably has one of the greatest football pyramids in the world and it should be protected. Football isn’t a tv program, Bielsa spot on as usual

@eddzzz11: Love this, everyone in a tizz as mancs KO at 3pm, fantastic

@sophielevin11: In a game so poisoned by commercial interest and endless demand and the relentless pursuit of corporate profit, it’s astounding that the last bastion of honour and dignity and all that is good and holy is here, our socialist king, the manager of Leeds United Football Club

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