New English Premiership rules regarding the media

I've just been reading about new real life rule stating that all mangers and not their assistants must talk to the BBC after each game and if they refuse or send their assistant, like Sir Alex Ferguson has done, they will be fined. I'm just wondering if this has been included in fm11 as I normally send my assistants to do the press conferences as I find them one of the most repetitive and boring areas of the game.

If this has already been discussed in another thread or is already in the game and I've just missed it then I apologise but I did a quick search but couldn't find it.

Is this true? He sent Phelan on Sunday.

Never heard of this rule, but it’d be annoying if it is true. I HATE press-conferences.

Is this true? He sent Phelan on Sunday.

And received a £60,000 fine for his troubles (Which United have said they will pick up all season)

To iron this out, basically TV rights that are bid for each year (or multiple years in some/most cases) include many things such as Live News Conferences requiring a member of staff to attend etc. Clubs buy into this contract through the Premier League (and Championship etc) and the rules of said contract are then imposed on the clubs relating to the competition. Ferguson should, as part of the Tv Rights deal, attend interviews with certain outlets who pay for such rights. He instead sends Phelan. This lowers the fine imposed on the club, but does not eradicate it, hence the reporting of the fine Manchester Utd are hit by for Fregie's continued boycott of BBC.

Long story short it's similar to Nike paying a player for a boot deal, and then him wearing Adidas to play in.

It's definitely true. I don't think SI will include it- nobody's paying their license fee to make some idiot behind a computer choose various options!

It's definitely true. I don't think SI will include it- nobody's paying their license fee to make some idiot behind a computer choose various options!

OH MY GAWDZ. WHAT ABOUT DA REALISM??!?!?! .

Ye, I hope they don’t include it, or maybe just a tiny penalty for not attending?

AFAIK the league wasnt going to punish him, but have a word with both parties and try to resolve the issue. If the above is true then obviously they have. How can the league tell somebody who they can and can't talk to? The BBC are still getting an interview, its not like the club are ignoring them completely.

All the BBC have to do is apologise and im sure the matter would be put to bed. The league have no right to interfere in a personal dispute.

I doubt this will get in. The 'send assisstant button' is basically a 'I can't be bothered' button, press conferences aren't anyway near fun enough to remove it.

AFAIK the league wasnt going to punish him, but have a word with both parties and try to resolve the issue. If the above is true then obviously they have. How can the league tell somebody who they can and can't talk to? The BBC are still getting an interview, its not like the club are ignoring them completely.

All the BBC have to do is apologise and im sure the matter would be put to bed. The league have no right to interfere in a personal dispute.

Wrong - it's a personal grievance against another party. Personal.....that is impacting on the continued relationship of Fergie's employers, Man Utd, and there partners, BBC (in this case). Hence he is jepordising the contract and possibly in breach of more than one clause in it. Hence the fine. The problem is, if all managers did this, the TV Rights money would be much less when it came to renewals as not many outlets would ever get the "big names" to talk to them. That's what it's really about!

Wrong - it's a personal grievance against another party. Personal.....that is impacting on the continued relationship of Fergie's employers, Man Utd, and there partners, BBC (in this case). Hence he is jepordising the contract and possibly in breach of more than one clause in it. Hence the fine. The problem is, if all managers did this, the TV Rights money would be much less when it came to renewals as not many outlets would ever get the "big names" to talk to them. That's what it's really about!

Man Utd are not partners of the BBC. The League are the partners with the BBC.

The BBC are still getting an interview from Man Utd, the club is holding down their end of the bargain. It says a member of staff, not manager. If the club as a whole were boycotting the BBC then fair enough but they are not.

Anyway, this all started with the BBC anyway. Fergie is right to ignore them until they apologise.

Man Utd are not partners of the BBC. The League are the partners with the BBC.

The BBC are still getting an interview from Man Utd, the club is holding down their end of the bargain. It says a member of staff, not manager. If the club as a whole were boycotting the BBC then fair enough but they are not.

Anyway, this all started with the BBC anyway. Fergie is right to ignore them until they apologise.

OK, the letter of the law says that the League and BBC are the people in partnership, but each and every Premiership club are by proxy also. I would have picked that up too however so don't blame you for being a pedant.

The BBC are still getting an interview yes. What about if instead of Steven Gerrard being interviewed or questioned at a news conference after/before each England game, the FA instead elected to send their Janitor. He's still an England Football Team employee....but I have a feeling that it would be deemed breach!

The rule regards post-match interviews, not press conferences, so it doesn't actually matter really.

I prefer listening to Phelan anyway, he's fair and fairly articulate, and besides Ferguson's interviews with ITV after the Champions League are normally crap.

OK, the letter of the law says that the League and BBC are the people in partnership, but each and every Premiership club are by proxy also. I would have picked that up too however so don't blame you for being a pedant.

The BBC are still getting an interview yes. What about if instead of Steven Gerrard being interviewed or questioned at a news conference after/before each England game, the FA instead elected to send their Janitor. He's still an England Football Team employee....but I have a feeling that it would be deemed breach!

That is an extreme example and im sure if a club did do that they would be blantantly taking the micky and would deserve a punishment. United are sending Phelan though, the assistant manager i.e. the next highest person possible down from the manager, not the kit man. I really dont see what their problem is. TBH I dont think the BBC has a problem with Phelan doing the interviews, they are used to it now. Its just the league trying to make an example as usual. This situation has been going on for years with nothing said at all, hy the sudden interest from the league. Its not even like the BBC are paying the majority of the money. If he was doing it to Sky and it was putting the deal at jeopardy then that would be a different matter.

The rule regards post-match interviews, not press conferences, so it doesn't actually matter really.

Thats good so unless the press conferences have been dramatically improved for fm11 I will just keep sending my assistant.

fERGIE WAS FINED £1,000. tHE TOTAL OF £60,000 IS THE AMOUNT IT COULD BE IF HE DOES NOT DO AN INTERVIEW ALL SEASON

And received a £60,000 fine for his troubles (Which United have said they will pick up all season)

No, He will receive fines starting at £1000 and raising each and every time so at the end of the season will be fined in total £60,000

He will almost certainly now be hit with a £1,000 fine when the Premier League board meets next month. The fines will then rise each time the fiery Scot snubs the BBC after matche

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/08/24/manchester-united-boss-alex-ferguson-won-t-break-bbc-silence-115875-22509588/#ixzz0xXoyie1t

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Since it is Ferguson that was fined and not Man Utd I think boycotting press conferences should be a part of the game.

But the reason we boycott press conferences in-game is not the same reason Fergie boycotts the BBC IRL. I doubt anyone has a grudge against the 'journalists' in FM.

What about if instead of Steven Gerrard being interviewed or questioned at a news conference after/before each England game, the FA instead elected to send their Janitor. He's still an England Football Team employee....but I have a feeling that it would be deemed breach!

Germany pretty much tried that at the World Cup before the game with England. The FIFA rules stated that the manager and a player must attend, they just sent their goalkeeping coach. No disciplinary action was taken though, they just got a reminder of their responsibilities.

Yeah, the issue is that since the BBC are giving the Premier League money, they've asked for assurances that the manager of each club will be available for post-match interviews. *Note, manager.

In accepting the TV money, I would presume Man Utd have signed a contract agreeing to send their manager to post-match interviews.

The harshest punishment the PL could enforce is not giving Man Utd TV money, but that would be hugely unlikely.

No, He will receive fines starting at £1000 and raising each and every time so at the end of the season will be fined in total £60,000

£60,000 is like one week's pay for one of their players. Fergie must be laughing at all the attention on this issue.

I have a grudge against those journalists...

they keep on asking the same questions

The rule regards post-match interviews, not press conferences, so it doesn't actually matter really.

I think this discussion is over

How can the league tell somebody who they can and can't talk to?...The league have no right to interfere in a personal dispute.

I think you're missing the point about how the BBC has paid for the right for Ferguson to talk to them, a contract which Ferguson is bound to uphold. The League is simply insisting that Ferguson uphold his contract, it isn't simply a personal dispute because there is the matter of the contract between the Premier League and the BBC which is in jeopardy if Alex Ferguson continues his little tantrum

What's to stop Man Utd appointing Phelan has caretaker manager for the time of the interview?

Much as I have sympathy with SAF over the causes of his refusal to speak with the BBC (tbh, if I had a kid and someone made unsubstantiated claims against him, I wouldn't exactly be inclined to speak with his detractors even after an apology), there is a question of contractual obligation. Somewhere, I'm sure, there must be a clause specifically mentioning the manager, not his assistant or member of the coaching staff, but the Big Cheese himself. If it wasn't so, I'm also sure United's lawyers would have been all over the proposed fine(s) quicker than you could say 'No comment'.

On that, I quite look forward to Sir Alex going on MotD and meeting every question with a steely glare and 'No comment'. In such an instance, he would have fulfilled his obligation (he has turned up and spoken, after all). Maybe then the PL would realize they were better off with getting Phelan for the Beeb!

Much as I have sympathy with SAF over the causes of his refusal to speak with the BBC (tbh, if I had a kid and someone made unsubstantiated claims against him, I wouldn't exactly be inclined to speak with his detractors even after an apology), there is a question of contractual obligation. Somewhere, I'm sure, there must be a clause specifically mentioning the manager, not his assistant or member of the coaching staff, but the Big Cheese himself. If it wasn't so, I'm also sure United's lawyers would have been all over the proposed fine(s) quicker than you could say 'No comment'.

On that, I quite look forward to Sir Alex going on MotD and meeting every question with a steely glare and 'No comment'. In such an instance, he would have fulfilled his obligation (he has turned up and spoken, after all). Maybe then the PL would realize they were better off with getting Phelan for the Beeb!

In that specific scenario I believe you are correct. The fulfilment of the contractual obligations to the League based on TV Rights would be clear for all to see, and his pride is left intact.

Out of interest how much do the BBC pay the league and how much does each club receive from the BBC themselves?

Out of interest how much do the BBC pay the league and how much does each club receive from the BBC themselves?

The BBC pay for the rights to show MOTD on television. They paid £171m for a three year deal in 2009 that came into effect at the start of the season. I think the money goes into the television right "pot" which is then shared out with the clubs at the end of the season.

Much as I have sympathy with SAF over the causes of his refusal to speak with the BBC (tbh, if I had a kid and someone made unsubstantiated claims against him, I wouldn't exactly be inclined to speak with his detractors even after an apology), there is a question of contractual obligation. Somewhere, I'm sure, there must be a clause specifically mentioning the manager, not his assistant or member of the coaching staff, but the Big Cheese himself. If it wasn't so, I'm also sure United's lawyers would have been all over the proposed fine(s) quicker than you could say 'No comment'.

On that, I quite look forward to Sir Alex going on MotD and meeting every question with a steely glare and 'No comment'. In such an instance, he would have fulfilled his obligation (he has turned up and spoken, after all). Maybe then the PL would realize they were better off with getting Phelan for the Beeb!

I really hope this is the case and he can just turn up and say no comment. I have a feeling though that the contract may state that the manager gives his views on the game, which just by answering 'no comment', he's not giving his view and could be deemed as breaking the contract. I hope thats not the case though. Without sounding like Keven Keegan...... Id love it if Fergie did do this and leave the BBC and the league without a leg to stand on.

What's to stop Man Utd appointing Phelan has caretaker manager for the time of the interview?

The fact that they are not going to sack Ferguson for 20 minutes after every match? (imagine the cost of it).