UK fans won’t be able to watch EL Clasico due to British broadcasting rights law; football fans in England will not have an opportunity to watch their darling superstar Jude Bellingham in this weekend’s El Clasico as La Liga champions Barcelona welcome Real Madrid.
El Clasico is one of the most iconic football fixtures on the planet, and UK fans would have been hoping to catch a glimpse of the former Birmingham City player in Madrid white, who has taken La Liga by storm.
But, due to a long-standing British law regarding broadcasting rights, Spain’s most famous fixture won’t be aired in the UK.
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Bellingham, who signed for Madrid for £100million over the summer, kicked off the season in extraordinary form, with 11 goals in 12 games for the club across all competitions. He will now be aiming to make an impact against their bitter rivals.
But the clash won’t be shown on telly because kick-off is at 3.15 pm on Saturday, in the middle of the UK’s football blackout.
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In place since the 1960s, the law states that no football matches are allowed to be broadcast live between 2.45 pm and 5.30 pm.
It was implemented due to concerns that televised matches would hurt stadium attendance nationwide, particularly at lower league games.
La Liga’s UK and Ireland Managing Director, Keegan Pierce, has called for a change to the rule, insisting it should only apply to UK-based matches.
“We’re disappointed that British fans cannot watch El Clasico this weekend due to the UK’s self-imposed Saturday 3 p.m. rule,” he said.
“While we fully support measures to promote attendance, we believe the blackout should be limited to the televising of domestic football, not overseas competitions.”
Real Madrid are currently top of La Liga after winning eight of their first 10 matches, while Barcelona, who, unlike Madrid, are still undefeated, are just a point behind them in third.
