The TV Blackout of Celtic’s match at Ross County today is entirely down to the SFA.
Across Europe there used to be an embargo on 3pm Saturday kick offs but that was relaxed in 2020 during Lockdown with UEFA dropping that restrictions as fixtures were played behind closed doors.
Last season Scottish clubs were able to sell matches on Pay Per View to fans in the UK but the Scottish authorities have blown the final whistle on that with less than 2,000 Celtic fans having tickets for today’s match in Dingwall.
Your annual reminder that the Scottish FA voluntarily signs up the UEFA blackout rule (3pm) and that it is not law.
This season, only two UEFA nations have voluntarily restricted themselves like this – England and Scotland.https://t.co/FbOPbqKIZ4 https://t.co/pW2I4YSjfo
— Grant Russell (@grantrussell_) August 6, 2022
Russell previously worked for STV and Motherwell and is now Marketing Lead at West Ham.
Whether the decision is driven by Sky Sports isn’t known but it isn’t ridiculous to suggest that Ross County could have sold 10,000 passes at £10 a time for today’s match.
Celtic TV will show the game to subscribers outside of the UK and Ireland.