Saturday, November 10, 2007
Man Utd reject Christmas Eve fixture
Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that Manchester United rejected a request to play Everton at 8pm on Christmas Eve as "a non-starter".
The club were approached by Setanta, the TV company, who are screening the match live, to move the kick-off to the night before Christmas but it was dismissed out of hand.
"The club were asked to play and it was a non-starter," Ferguson said.
"Who wants to play on Christmas Eve? The players will be wanting to get their Christmas presents out for their children. That was an easy one to decide."
United will now play the match at Old Trafford at noon on December 23. Their decision to reject Setanta's request was backed up by Greater Manchester Police.
The issue of kick-off times being moved in order to satisfy the demands of television has become an increasing headache for clubs.
This weekend, only one Premier League match is kicking off at the traditional 3pm start on Saturday, with six out of ten games taking place on Sunday and one on Monday.
The club were approached by Setanta, the TV company, who are screening the match live, to move the kick-off to the night before Christmas but it was dismissed out of hand.
"The club were asked to play and it was a non-starter," Ferguson said.
"Who wants to play on Christmas Eve? The players will be wanting to get their Christmas presents out for their children. That was an easy one to decide."
United will now play the match at Old Trafford at noon on December 23. Their decision to reject Setanta's request was backed up by Greater Manchester Police.
The issue of kick-off times being moved in order to satisfy the demands of television has become an increasing headache for clubs.
This weekend, only one Premier League match is kicking off at the traditional 3pm start on Saturday, with six out of ten games taking place on Sunday and one on Monday.
