‘Greedy ’ - Jeff Stelling's scathing reaction to landmark EFL change impacting Portsmouth, Plymouth & rivals

Former Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling has issued a scathing response to the proposed changes to English football’s current Saturday blackout period that could affect the likes of Portsmouth, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle.

Since 1960, there has been a television blackout preventing 3pm Saturday afternoon kick-offs from being shown live on television throughout the United Kingdom. This rule was implemented to ensure that there was not a negative impact on matchday attendances, which many clubs are heavily reliant on to generate revenue throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

The United Kingdom remains the only region of Europe that still upholds such restrictions, but according to reports from Mail Sport, that 64-year tradition could be brought to an end before the start of the 2029/30 season, with the Premier League pushing for change to generate greater profit from simply broadcasting more matches.

The potential move has split opinion across the football community, however, with Football League bosses concerned that 3pm broadcasts could contribute to a trend that has already seen a drop off in midweek ticket sales during winter months.

Stelling, who anchored Sky Sports’ Gillette Soccer Saturday programme for 19 years between 1994 and 2023, has revealed he is furious at the proposed shake-up - and in a grim forecast has even claimed that it would spark ‘the end’ for a number of clubs in the English football pyramid.

In an emotional response to the proposal, he told TalkSport: "So the headline should read, 'Greedy Premier League, it's all about us. You lot, you can go and do one, we don't care about you'.

"There's no point in comparing it with European leagues for a start because football in England, the pyramid, is totally different. In this country, people care about teams in the Championship, in League One, in League Two, in the National League.”

He also used the rant as an opportunity to take a swipe at former employers Sky Sports and a number of other TV broadcasters for over charging football fans across the country.

“It seems the Premier League don't care at all and frankly, the fact that the Premier League or whoever it is, are saying that they're worried about illegal streaming, so what?

"Tell the TV companies to cut the price of subscriptions and that will stop people streaming things illegally instead. They've got to start to look after the lower league sides. If Grimsby are playing Morecambe, Saturday afternoon and it's cold, wet and miserable, and Manchester United against Manchester City is on TV live at 3pm, how many people are going to go to Grimsby against Morecambe? I can tell you how many: a big, fat zero, and that will be the end of clubs at a lower level."