SIX NATIONS SHOULD REMAIN ON FREE-TO-AIR TV, SAYS ENGLAND CAPTAIN MARO ITOJE

Itoje says ‘rugby needs more eyes on it, not less’. Photo: PA

Maro Itoje leads England into what could be the final Six Nations shown on terrestrial television with a call to organisers to prioritise the game’s reach when considering the next broadcast deal.

The BBC and ITV have shared the TV rights since 2016, but their contract ends after the current tournament and TNT Sports has confirmed it is considering bidding for 2026 onwards.

For the first time the game’s biggest draw outside the World Cup faces the prospect of going behind a paywall, but Itoje insists it must remain free-to-air.

“The Six Nations should be viewed by as many people as possible,” said the England captain ahead of Saturday’s clash with Ireland in Dublin.

“I grew up watching the Six Nations on the BBC and on ITV. The fact that it’s been on free-to-air…I think rugby needs more eyes on it, not less.

“Obviously I’m not involved in the finances of the deals, but even though international rugby is massive, the sport should be looking at ways to be more accessible to more people, as opposed to the opposite.”

Saturday’s Aviva Stadium showdown promises to be a blockbuster start to the rivals’ title bids, with the outcome setting the tone for the remainder of their campaigns.

Ireland enter as strong favourites and are out for revenge after they were edged 23-22 in dramatic circumstances at Allianz Stadium last year. Few are backing England to cause an upset, but Itoje insists that only adds to the motivation.

“When people write you off it always gets the juices flowing a little bit, whether that’s in sport or when my teachers predicted me to get lower grades than I eventually got!” Itoje said.

“It always gives you a little bit of extra motivation and a bit more anticipation for what you can do and what you can achieve.

“You definitely have to give Ireland respect. You see their strength and acknowledge where they are good.

“But when you play any team, you don’t put them on a pedestal. We believe in our team, we believe in what we can do. It’s just our job to go and do it.”

England enter the Six Nations on the back of a poor 2024 which produced only five wins in 12 Tests, although on three occasions they fell to late defeats to New Zealand, while also losing narrowly to France and Australia.

“What last year has shown us is that, despite the results not going our way, if you were to watch the games, most people would see the potential of the team,” Itoje said.

“As players, we believe in what we’re doing, we believe in what we’re about and now our part of the bargain is to get over the line.

“We put ourselves in positions to win most, if not all of the games, but for varying reasons we didn’t.

“Ultimately we didn’t take our opportunity when it arose. Our job is to make sure that when those moments come, we take them.

“In games you have a finite amount of chances. If you don’t take your chances then you’re not going to win.”

- DUNCAN BECH

EUROSPORT CLOSING MIGHT JUST BE THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR PRO CYCLING IN THE UK

(Image credit: Getty Images)

This might sound hyperbolic, but with the Tour de France also disappearing from ITV, it feels like a golden era is over

Two short years ago, we had never had it so good as pro cycling fans in the UK. There was GCN+ at our fingertips, for under £10 a month, with essentially every bike race you could ever wish for, live and on-demand, without ads. There was Eurosport, if you were someone who liked to watch cycling on your TV old-school, with endless adverts for Renault and river cruises on the Danube. During certain races, most pertinently the Tour de France, there was also live coverage on ITV4, and highlights for other events too.

We didn’t know how good it was. Those halcyon days are now behind us, and becoming ever more distant. GCN+ closed at the end of 2023, bringing an end to two great years; ITV4 will lose the rights to showing the Tour de France at the end of 2025; and as of next month, Eurosport will be no more. Cycling fans in the UK (and Ireland) will have to pay more than ever to watch cycling on TNT Sports, from small events like the E3 Saxo Classic to the biggest, like the Tour de France. When I say more than ever, it is a 344% increase on current monthly fees for Discovery+ subscribers - from £6.99 to £30.99. If you’re someone who just watches Eurosport through your current package, that’s a subscription that you’ve never had to pay for before.

It might sound hyperbolic, but I think this puts professional cycling in serious danger in the UK. Judging by the comments under our original article, and across social media, people are not prepared to pay that much a month to watch cycling. Without people watching, arguably, sport struggles for meaning. People might read race reports more - good news for me - but taking it behind an even bigger paywall feels like a backwards step, especially when it was so good before.

TNT’s argument is that fans will have access to more sport through their regular channels, and that this way, football, rugby or UFC fans will also cross over: viewed from that perspective, cycling could grow its audience! However, cycling is not football, rugby or UFC it’s a smaller, more niche sport, and this decision hints that it will become even more of a non-entity in the UK. Their other argument is that young people don’t watch TV any more, which might be true, perhaps TikTok and YouTube are king, but when the step to the live experience is so prohibitively expensive, it does not seem like many will ever be converted into dedicated fans.

In my experience, cycling fans are not always general sports fans. They are not people who are going to be excited by the opportunity to watch an array of mainstream sports, but people who just want to watch the Critérium du Dauphiné without interruption, at a similar cost to before. Sure, there are exceptions - I love cricket and football - but I don’t have an expensive TNT or Sky Sports subscription for these, and they are more readily available, whether down the pub or on the radio. Try walking into your local and asking for Dwars door Vlaanderen on the big screen.

Whilst an inconvenience for fans, the end of accessible TV coverage could spell disaster for the future of our sport. If fewer people are watching cycling in the UK, fewer people are going to be inspired to ride (or even race) bikes. Sure, the next British Tour de France winner might come from a house with TNT, but the chances are smaller, the opportunities to discover cycling smaller. We are creating an even more middle class sport.

If this really is the epoch-ending event for cycling on TV in the UK that it seems, then this will have a huge impact on the races themselves, on sponsors who rely on airtime, ultimately on the action. Cycling might seem like an attractive sport for those buying rights this time around, but what about in the future? Will we ever have it so good again? Right now, it seems unlikely.

I expect fewer people are going to be watching cycling in the UK and Ireland from the end of next month. Let's hope it isn’t time for the last rites for the sport.

- ADAM BECKET

'I'M NOT HAPPY': JERMAINE JENAS SACKED BY BBC WHILE LIVE ON AIR AT talkSPORT

BBC

Former footballer Jermaine Jenas says he is "not happy" with his sacking from the BBC over claims of inappropriate behaviour.

The broadcaster earlier confirmed Jenas is "no longer part" of The One Show's "presenting line-up".

The news of Jenas's sacking broke as he started presenting a three-hour drive-time programme on talkSPORT radio with fellow former footballer Jermaine Pennant.

Jenas, 41, has also been dropped from his punditry and presenting duties on the BBC's flagship football highlights programme Match Of The Day, as well as Match Of The Day 2 and Radio 5 Live.

BBC News reported his contract was terminated earlier this week due to alleged issues relating to workplace behaviour.

It also reported the termination followed allegations involving digital communications, such as texts, which were raised with the corporation a few weeks ago.

Speaking to a talkSPORT reporter on Thursday evening, Jenas said: "I can't really talk about it. As you can probably see, I'm not happy about it. But currently as it stands I'm going to have to let the lawyers deal with it.

"There's two sides... that's all I can say now."

He added: "I'm not happy about this situation. I'm going to be speaking to my lawyers about it, is all I can say right now."

Jenas said he couldn't talk about the subjects of most questions asked by the radio station but agreed with the interviewer when the latter said: "I can see you're fuming."

The former footballer also declined to say whether he has begun legal proceedings.

In an email to employees, seen by Sky News, the BBC said: "I wanted to let you know that Jermaine Jenas is no longer working for the BBC."

A spokesperson for talkSPORT said the station was "made aware of a breaking news story involving Jermaine Jenas as he went on air for a one-off presenting slot on talkSPORT Drive".

A statement added: "We made a decision - with Jermaine - that he should continue to present the show.

"Given the array of serious allegations being reported as the story continues to evolve, it's for Jermaine as a private individual to address them in the way he chooses.

"There are no plans for Jermaine to broadcast as a presenter on talkSPORT in the immediate future."

Jenas last presented The One Show in mid-July, and last appeared on Match Of The Day in May.

Jenas, who earned between £190,000 and £194,999 at the BBC for his work on the FA Cup, Match Of The Day and the World Cup in 2022/23, also works for TNT Sports.

His salary for presenting The One Show has not been made public as the show is made by BBC Studios, the BBC's commercial production company.

Jenas made his footballing debut aged 17 for Nottingham Forest and went on to play for Newcastle United, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers during his career.

Jenas also made 21 appearances for England, scoring one goal.

The midfielder moved into punditry and presenting on the BBC and BT Sport after retiring from professional football in 2016.

The father-of-four joined The One Show in 2020 as a stand-in co-host following the departure of Matt Baker, and he was made a permanent fixture the following year.

His agency MC Saatchi also said it no longer represents him following the news of his sacking.

TNT Sports said it would not comment on Jenas's employment with the BBC but it is understood that he is not scheduled to appear on the platform's channels for a number of weeks.

Jenas was a co-commentator on the Ipswich v Liverpool match on TNT last Saturday as the Premier League returned.

It is believed that TNT Sports was unaware of the status of Jenas's employment with the BBC.

talkSPORT did not immediately respond to Sky's request for comment.

- Sky News 

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: RULES EXPERT EXPLAINS GAME-CHANGING ‘ERRORS’ IN REAL MADRID’S COMEBACK

Reuters 

In one of the most epic Champions League semifinals in recent memory, Real Madrid produced another late UCL comeback, scoring twice in the final minutes to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. It was Joselu who came off the bench for a brace, seeing the Spanish club advance 4-3 on aggregate, and they'll take on Dortmund in the final on June 1. 

But it wasn't without massive controversy.

As Bayern pushed forward in need of an equalizer to force extra time, defender Matthijs de Ligt found the back of the net with a brilliantly struck low shot from inside of the box. The only problem? The assistant referee put his flag up and called offside on the long ball preceding the Dutch defender's shot. De Ligt and teammate Noussair Mazraoui went up for a long ball into the box and appeared onside. Instead of keeping his flag down and letting the play continue, the assistant referee called the offside, the ref whistled it, and the play was called dead. That meant that it could not be reviewed as Real Madrid players stopped playing before the shot went off. 

De Ligt and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel said the assistant referee apologized after the match with the coach calling it "disastrous" and "like betrayal" in an interview with TNT Sports.  

CBS Sports rule analyst Christina Unkel broke down the controversy on the Champions League Today Post-Match show and said there were multiple mistakes by the crew of Szymon Marciniak, Tomasz Listkiewicz and Adam Kupsik:

"Unfortunately, there are two officiating errors that occur here," Unkel said. 

"Here, he [Mazraoui] is not in an offside position, so we don't even have to get into discussion about whether he interfered with play. But, we have the first error by the assistant referee in raising that flag, which goes against the direction of holding that flag, especially where the attacking phase of play and it has not yet finished. And then we have the second error by the referee in accepting that recommendation by the assistant referee and blowing his whistle instead of saying, 'Thank you, I see you. I'm going to hold my whistle until this play goes out.' And this is very surprising. This isn't some of the best in Europe, this actually would be considered the best [refereeing crew] in Europe. This Polish trio, having refereed Champions League final, having just done the men's World Cup final. It was a very surprising decision by both the assistant referee and the referee which goes to an oversight in detail and attention at these critical moments.

"So it was not a good day for the third team today. "

Unkel went on to say that we could possibly see them punished in terms of future assignments of big games.

"It's never a good day when the discussion truly is about a clear, critical error by the refereeing crew. As we know, we call these key match incidents, game-changing decisions ... It doesn't sit well, not just only for that officiating crew naturally, but it doesn't sit well for the whole referee community, especially when we have three different layers of technology that can prevent us from making these types of mistakes," she said. 

JUDE BELLINGHAM | TNT SPORTS

 

ARSENAL FANS LEFT FURIOUS WITH RIO FERDINAND OVER CONTROVERSIAL BUKAYO SAKA ANALYSIS

 

Arsenal fans have been left furious with Rio Ferdinand after he claimed that Bukayo Saka is not yet world-class.

Ferdinand was speaking on TNT Sports after Manchester City's 3-1 win over Danish side FC Copenhagen in the Champions League.

Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden all got on the scoresheet as Pep Guardiola's side put themselves in an almost ideal position ahead of the return leg at the Etihad Stadium later this month.

It was Foden's fourth goal in three games, after the 23-year-old scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Brentford last Monday.

And on TNT Sports, Ferdinand angered Arsenal fans with his comparisons between Foden and Saka, who recently brought up 50 goals in a Gunners shirt.

He said: "I think you've got to be looking at him [Foden] like that [world-class]. For what he does for the team, his importance to the team, with goals, assists and the rhythm of the game, especially this season.

"He's got to be in the conversation, and nearing that at least.

"I don't think [Saka] has done it at the top level, winning trophies at a team like this.

"He's not [in as good a team as City's]. You've got to respect and appreciate that Foden's done this, where the medals are handed out, he's performed. Against the best teams as well, consistently.

"You have to look at Phil Foden as world-class for what he does for his team" 🌟

"Bukayo Saka needs the opportunity to perform on that platform" 🙏@rioferdy5 assess two of England's brightest talents 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

"I think Saka is more about, he needs the opportunity to perform at that platform, that level, consistently, and you can consider him then [as world-class]."

Arsenal fans were not happy with Ferdinand's comments, with one writing: "Ruling out Saka cos his team never played the Champions League before is like ruling out Haaland cos Norway never made it to the World Cup."

A second said: "He has performed on that platform. Consistently."

And a third added: "By this logic, Harry Kane isn't world class."

Others though, agreed with Ferdinand: "Saka is a very good player but Foden is the world class bracket now. Saka isn't yet in my opinion."

Another said: "Difference between Saka and Foden is that one has trophies to show for it and the other doesn't."

- Ryan Smart

RIO FERDINAND HAS NAMED 12 PLAYERS HE CONSIDERS AS WORLD-CLASS AS A CONTROVERSIAL JUDE BELLINGHAM CLAIM WAS MADE

 

PA Wire

Since retiring from professional football, former Manchester United defender Ferdinand has been working as a pundit, often appearing on TNT Sports’ coverage.

On Wednesday night, Ferdinand was tasked with naming a list of world-class players.

The 12 players were - Ederson, Kyle Walker, Rodri, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr, Harry Kane, Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland.

However, fellow pundit and former Arsenal man Martin Keown questioned whether Bellingham can be considered as world-class.

He said: “I think Bellingham is one I question. He’s in amazing form, what he’s doing at Real Madrid right now, but we look at Saka.

“Saka’s been the England Player of the Year. Bellingham hasn’t got a look in. Maybe Rio is being a bit mischievous with Arsenal fans.”

Ferdinand then explained: “They’ve actually got that list a little bit wrong, because Bellingham was on the list just below that on his own, edging into there. I think the thing that lets him not be on that list, for me right now, is just time. He will be there – he’s in world-class form. You just need that time – and that’s where I see Saka.

“Saka’s got that world-class potential, he just hasn’t been exposed to the knockout stages of the Champions League – the longevity is the difference. If you look at that list, you can see they’ve played in the top, most prestigious games and they’ve produced in those moments. And they’ve all done ridiculous things over a long period of time.”

Ferdinand received criticism from Arsenal fans after claiming Saka is not world-class, he said: “Not yet. Listen, I think Saka’s been unreal. I actually think he needs a bit of a rest, so many games for a young kid.

“But I think, it’s almost like what is world-class? He hasn’t done it in the Champions League, has he? I’m talking in the nitty-gritty stages. Saka’s top, don’t get me wrong. He’s not world-class yet.”

Marcus Chan

CARL FRAMPTON | TNT SPORTS