Tam McManus has slammed the Edinburgh derby live TV blackout.
The former Hibs striker says the decision not to showcase this afternoon’s Tynecastle showdown is “shocking” and misses a golden opportunity to fully display one of the Scottish game’s crown jewels. Rangers against Celtic is live on Sky Sports this lunchtime. But the Gorgie game starts at 3pm and isn’t being beamed all across the UK.
Record Sport columnist McManus said: “Scottish football doesn’t do a very good of selling itself sometimes, does it? Every Edinburgh derby should be live on TV. It’s one of Scotland’s showpiece matches. The atmosphere will be electric. Why would we not want that shown across the UK and further afield? It’s incredible. I can’t actually believe it. Who comes up with these plans? I know games have to be spread around but Hibs are being shown live the following week at Motherwell.
“But not six days earlier in the derby? Why not play it on January 1 or 3 as a stand-alone? Or make it part of a live derby double-header after the Old Firm game, say even at 5pm? I’m sure someone has a reason. I’d like to hear it because, in terms of showcasing our game, this is a dreadful miss.”
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