OPINION
Leeds fans and Sky Sports aren’t the best of bedfellows. Leeds fans are sick of their fixtures being rearranged for Sky and are by far the most televised club in the division. Leeds fans don’t think they get the rewards they should for this from Sky and are regularly muted in live games when they start up a certain chant about the broadcaster.
Ahead of the play-off semi-finals against Derby the Leeds fans are up in arms again, after a report on the upcoming tie showed a graphic of Pride Park for Derby and a shot of Marcelo Bielsa photoshopped in some bushes with a pair of binoculars.
That makes reference to spygate, the scandal that erupted earlier in the season, when Bielsa admitted to sending staff to watch opponents train. That ended up costing Leeds £200,00, despite no rule being broken, and Leeds and Bielsa are keen to move on from it.
You can understand why Leeds fans are so upset. For starters, the matter is done and dusted and any report should focus on the football now. Sky Sports isn’t a downmarket tabloid and it shouldn’t resort to cheap tactics like this. They’re supposed to be neutral and this certainly doesn’t make Leeds fans feel like they are.
Someone obviously thought it was funny but as a journalist found out after Leeds lost to Ipswich on Sunday, Leeds and Bielsa don’t find the constant references amusing any more. After paying a £200k fine why should they?
An eagle-eyed Norwich City fan spotted the graphic and put it up on Twitter saying, “Oh my god. Leeds fans will be fuming with Sky Sports. Who made this?”
https://twitter.com/AJWard93/status/1125136926095364096
He was right – the Leeds fans were fuming after seeing it. Here are the best reactions on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/paulrpowell1/status/1125421301546520577
It is silly and childish really like a lot of modern media. No wonder people believe what they see and hear from the press, tv less than ever. All about getting people to watch rather than the truth. They know they are feeding a lot of peoples irrational dislike of LUFC. #lufc
— Watt The (@WattThe2) May 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/AndrewjFarnaby/status/1125675993170108416
https://twitter.com/markrikko/status/1125673321402703872
Dear @SkyFootball Disappointed you're showing such a bias towards Derby. You've gone on and on about Spygate, and yet never once asked Lampard why he lied about the incident.
— Farke-Two-Three-One (@aclr1972) May 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/tonypdickinson/status/1125690132861005825
