ASTON Villa’s crunch UEFA Cup return leg match against CSKA Moscow will not be shown on domestic television because greedy Russians failed to reach a deal with British broadcasters.
British TV channel Five have the rights to show the game but negotiations broke down with the Russian Football Federation and CSKA Moscow because of “insurmountable commercial issues”.
And ITV have also opted not to show the fixture, which lies tantalisingly poised at 1-1, instead choosing to broadcast Manchester City’s game against FC Copenhagen.
The news comes after thousands of Villa fans were left queuing outside the gates well after kick-off after Russian TV station, TV1, demanded the first game was shown at 7pm to accommodate their listings schedule.
To add further salt to the wound, Setanta are showing the return leg in Ireland, USA and Canada but not in the UK.
Today, Villa fans reacted angrily to the news accusing television channels of “messing around” dedicated football fans.
Heroes and Villains fanzine editor, Dave Woodhall, said: “It seems that they don’t care about the fans at all.
