Jesus said
"The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath"
Mark 2 v 27
FOOTBALL ON SUNDAYS
SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE
In the last issue of the Day One Magazine, we reported our concern regarding the number of Premier league games now being played on the Lord’s Day. We also shared with you the response from our letter which was sent to all Premier League Clubs throughout England.
Since the last issue of Day One, we have written to all Scottish Premier League Clubs and received seven replies. These came from the following clubs:
Celtic
Dundee United
Falkirk
Hibernian
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Rangers
St Mirren
As with England, all the clubs who replied placed the responsibility of having Sunday football upon the television companies and Scottish Premier League. We share some extracts from the replies we have received, including the two leading Scottish clubs.
‘We would wish to assure you that we would not insist that any of our employees worked on the Sabbath should they wish not to for religious reasons.’—John Reid, Chairman, Celtic F C
‘Most clubs in the SPL are great believers in Saturday afternoon football which is when we believe our games should be played.’—E Thompson, Chairman, Dundee United
‘Falkirk Football Club would prefer that all matches were played at the traditional time of 3pm on a Saturday.’—George Craig, Managing Director, Falkirk
‘The Club understands the preference for a traditional kick off time of 3pm on a Saturday.’—R M Petrie, Chairman, Hibernian
'Rangers F C is contractually bound to play games according to the SPL fixture list. However, the Club understands that football fans prefer to attend matches on a Saturday afternoon and tries to keep to this time-slot as often as possible.’—Gillian McKelvie, Rangers F C
From all the replies we have received, both in England and Scotland, it is clear that the clubs and football supporters overwhelmingly prefer Saturday football, and clearly attribute the blame for Sunday matches on the television companies.
Earlier this year, we reported of our concern regarding the number of Premier League games now being played on Sundays. We also mentioned that Malcolm Clark, Chairman of the Football Supporters Federation wished to see a significant reduction in Sunday matches.
In December a letter was sent from the Society to all twenty premier League Clubs expressing our deepest concern at this increase in games being played on the Lord’s Day.
We received ten replies from the twenty clubs who received our letter, namely:
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Blackburn Rovers
Chelsea
Everton
Fulham
Middlesbrough
Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Most of the clubs who replied were understanding of the concerns in our letter and acknowledged that many supporters preferred matches to be played on the traditional Saturday. Chelsea, however, was the only club who clearly stated that they ‘would not back any attempt to change Premier League matches being played on a Sunday, especially on religious grounds. As a club we make no decisions on religious grounds on any level.’
The most interesting reply came from Bill Kenwright, chairman of Everton Football Club. The contents express what we have felt for many years. We appreciate his honesty and clarity.
‘Dear Mr Roberts,
‘Thank you so much for your letter.
‘There is little that I, or indeed anyone, could argue about in your words. I don’t believe that there is anyone in football who is not concerned about ‘the number of Premier League matches now being played on Sundays.’ However, it is a symptom of the world we live in that ‘the vast amount of money offered by television companies to obtain the rights to cover these matches’ dictates the most profitable time to televise them. Both myself, and manager, David Moyes are committed churchgoers, and would love the situation to be otherwise, but of every industry I have ever been involved in, Football is the most competitive, and I fear that the questions that people like yourselves can ask, will very seldom be answered.
‘I thank you for taking the time and trouble to write to me, and for the knowledge that you share.’