Sky Sports to silence Everton fans v Manchester United, in-house meeting held to discuss issue
Sky Sports is set to silence the Everton fans during the game against Manchester United on Sunday (26 November) ahead of a planned protest against the 10-point deduction, according to The Times.
The newspaper reported on its website on Wednesday (22 November) that the broadcaster has held an internal meeting to discuss the issue after Toffees fan group the 1878s, the organiser of the protest, has called on fans to chant “Premier League corrupt as [expletive]” in the 10th minute of the game at Goodison Park.
It said Sky Sports will take steps to ensure the potentially offensive language isn’t clearly audible during the live TV broadcast to comply with Ofcom’s rules, which state the broadcaster may turn down crowd noise or take other steps to lessen the clarity of the audio.
Strict
It comes as no real surprise to hear that Sky Sports is already putting plans in place to prevent the chants from being heard on the TV audio.
Ofcom is strict about its rules being followed and there will be major concerns about offensive language being heard by children and families during the game.
While The Times reported that Sky is not expected to use fake crowd noise instead of natural sound, this is a method broadcasters have used previously in similar incidents.
It’s likely it will just choose to turn the volume down in those moments as the scheduled protest has already been revealed as to when it’s most likely to be heard and preventative measures can be taken.
It wouldn’t be a surprise for the chant to be sung throughout most of the game, though, as the fans look to display their displeasure towards the recent ruling.
In other Everton news, a Jack Harrison clause has emerged after a “bizarre” turn of events.