West Ham United will be proud to have sold out their first ever game at their new stadium, with more than 50,000 fans set to head along for the Europa League clash with NK Domžale on Thursday.
That’s great news for the club and for the fans who are going, but it’s less good for those without tickets who are hoping to watch on TV. The reason? It’s not being broadcast in the UK, and might not be on anywhere at all.
BT Sport showed the first leg in Slovenia, which left the tie delicately poised at 2-1 to the Hammers’ opponents, but have not snapped up the rights for the return game.
They are, however, showing West Ham’s friendly against Juventus on Sunday – the game which was supposed to be the grand opening of the London Stadium before Manchester United’s FA Cup win gave Slaven Bilić’s squad a European lifeline.
According to West Ham fansite Claret & Hugh, claims that Slovenian broadcaster Sport Klub 1 have the rights to the game are to be treated ‘with suspicion’.
The news has left some fans at a loss ahead of the crunch match, which could leave the London club within 180 minutes of a group stage berth.
ridiculous decision that we can't watch it on tv. Absolute madness.
— John (@0703jab) August 3, 2016
@jsullivanwhu Hi mate, hope all is well. Could you possibly have a word with you dad or someone about a stream or something for Thursday?
— West Ham Forum (@WestHam_Forum) August 2, 2016
https://twitter.com/SimplyFeghouli/status/760534540788072448
We have reached out to BT Sport, who showed the first leg and hold exclusive UK TV rights to the Europa League live broadcasts, to find out more. We are awaiting comment at the time of writing.
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