Kettering chairman Imraan Ladak has hit out at ITV and Setanta for choosing not to televise their plum FA Cup fourth-round tie against Fulham live and has offered to turn down the TV revenue if either broadcaster change their minds.
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LADAK: Willing to waive fee
Blue Square Premier club Kettering are in the fourth round for only the second time in 136 years.
The draw added more spice as it pitted them against the Premier League team owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, making made it the Cup’s first clash between two Muslim owners.
As well as the challenge posed by Roy Hodgson’s men, the Poppies also anticipated the traditional windfall every non-league team expects when drawn at home to top-flight opposition – a cheque for £160,000 for live TV coverage.
Now they claim ITV and Setanta have taken the almost unprecedented step of ignoring the tie.
Ladak said: “Not only is it a tradition that such a tie is screened live, not to show it contradicts the FA’s stated objective to use the Cup to redistribute funds throughout the game.”
The live TV games are Derby v Nottingham Forest; Hartlepool v West Ham; Manchester United v Tottenham, Cardiff v Arsenal and Liverpool v Everton.
Ladak said: “Liverpool, Manchester United and Spurs were all screened live in the third round, while Spurs will be live on TV for six consecutive games.
“We will allow Setanta Sports to screen our game, on any of their seven channels, and waive the £160,000 fee, or we can ask the FA to move the game to another date to assist the companies with their scheduling.
“There are other non-subscription TV channels willing to screen the game live or allow ITV or Setanta to use their platform on any date the FA choose.”
Kettering’s shirts bear the logo Palestine Aid and Ladak added: “We also hope our offer will allow ITV or Setanta to help increase awareness of the current humanitarian crisis in Palestine.”
An FA spokesman said: “The choice of televised matches is entirely the broadcasters’ prerogative and while I can understand Kettering’s frustration, the matches chosen are all very strong selections.
“The broadcasters paid £425million to screen England and FA Cup games and that helps us to fund the game at all levels in a way we have not done before.”
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