The company of Leeds United’s majority shareholder Andrea Radrizzani has secured sports rights in Myanmar – and fans have taken to Twitter to react with sarcasm and disgust.
Eleven Sports announced on their website today they have agreed a nine-year deal for live rights to the Myanmar National Football League starting from 2019.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Radrizzani is the founder and vice chairman of sports agency MP & Silva, whose Eleven Sports platform was established in 2015 to screen live sports events, which it now does in 11 countries.
The deal comes just six weeks after United’s controversial post-season tour of Myanmar, which was heavily criticised due to political tensions and violence in the country whose government have been accused of ethnic cleansing against Muslims.
Amid the widescale criticism of the tour from MPs and charities, Radrizzani defended his decision to take the club to the south-east Asian country and denied that personal business interests were behind the controversial tour.
A section of Leeds supporters are unsurprised and angry that their club was blatantly used as a propaganda tool to help secure the Myanmar TV deal, with comments including “I’m personally disgusted” while others were more sanguine and claimed it could benefit Leeds.
This Is Futbol has rounded up some of the best tweets:
Good for him it's big business Sports rights, could benefit Leeds in the big scheme of things MOT.
— R.Cartwright ??? (@rogercart57) June 22, 2018
We were just there what are the chances
— Clockwork White (@rhodes_g) June 22, 2018
What a coincidence with us going over there recently in the interest of promoting football as a way of uniting a nation towards peace….Never once thought we were there to clinch a business deal for Andrea! ?
— Wayne Monaghan (@White_never_red) June 22, 2018
If it gives him more funding to invest in Leeds surely this is a good thing
— c (@cr2734) June 22, 2018
So used Leeds as leverage to get this contract? Interesting
— Jack (@jack_cym) June 22, 2018
Ahhh so thats the reason we went
— Phil (@leedsunited86) June 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/WotzThatSound/status/1010112068052189184
https://twitter.com/DBauer191/status/1010073945402376192