Gordon Smith hopes TV proposal for Scotland games will not see the light of day

SFA chief executive Gordon Smith is hopeful he has made a persuasive case to the UK government which will stave off the implementation of a report calling for Scotland's World Cup and European Championship qualifying matches to be protected for free-to-air television coverage.

Tomorrow is the closing date for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's consultation period into the recommendations of a panel which last year undertook the first review of free-to-air listed sporting events since 1998.

The SFA are bitterly opposed to the panel's proposal that Scotland's home and away qualifiers should be added to the list, insisting it will result in a loss of income of up to 12 million a year which would have seriously damaging and far reaching implications for every level of Scottish football.

The SFA's have a long-standing television contract with IMG and their latest four-year deal, which starts next season, is worth around 55 million and will see British Sky Broadcasting continue to have exclusive rights for Scotland's home qualifiers.

Smith believes the listed review panel's report is flawed in providing an obvious bias in favour of the BBC which it concedes will be the "only realistic bidder for most listed events". Given a lack of competition from STV, Channel 4 and Five, the only other companies currently allowed to bid for listed sporting events, the BBC would clearly not have to pay as much as the SFA currently receive for the rights to their home matches.

There are also concerns over the objectivity of the listed review panel, which is chaired by David Davies and includes Dougie Donnelly and Colin Jackson. All three men are current or former BBC contributors.

In a recent interview with the magazine FC Business, former Football Association director Davies freely admitted the panel had failed to take into account the financial implications their recommendations would have on the sporting governing bodies affected by them.

"The work our panel has done has not looked at the cost implication of the decisions," said Davies. "That was never our brief and it was always about looking at whether certain sporting events should be available to those people that choose not to subscribe to sports channel. If we took into consideration how much money a sport would theoretically lose, we would have been here for far longer and the DCMS were keen to get a definitive list before the election, which we could not deliver in that timescale."

Smith believes that admission by Davies weakens the credibility of the panel's recommendations which will be considered by the Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Ben Bradshaw.

"For me, that was an astonishing comment," said Smith. "To ignore the financial implications of this is extraordinary. For the SFA, our television deal is by far our biggest and most important source of income. If our matches were to become listed, then we would almost certainly end up in a situation where the BBC were the only bidders. As it stands, STV are just not in the market.

"I used to work for the BBC and have no axe to grind with them. But why would they pay us the kind of money we are getting at the moment when they didn't have to? If this is pushed through by the government,the SFA believe we could see our level of broadcasting income halved after our current deal ends in 2014. It would impact badly on our work in football at every level, from the grassroots right through to the senior international side.

"We have made our submission to the DCMS and now that the consultation period is coming to an end, we are hopeful they will take our arguments on board, see the problems it would cause us and bring a sensible approach to the situation."

The SNP have been one of the most vociferous supporters of the moves to have Scotland matches made available on free-to-air television, highlighting a survey in which 96 per cent of respondents backed a switch from satellite television. The Scottish government, however, have no devolved authority on the issue.

"I can understand that kind of response," added Smith, "but I would expect the same kind of thing if people were asked if they would rather have free public transport or have to pay for it.

"As it stands, the SFA feel we have a good balance in our broadcasting contract at the moment with live coverage on BSkyB and highlights on BBC Scotland. It is important for us, if we are going to maintain a proper level of investment in all aspects of our game, that the market for our broadcasting rights remains competitive."

It appears increasingly unlikely the listed events review will go before parliament ahead of the impending General Election, therefore leaving its fate in the hands of whoever forms the next government. But the issue will probably be re-assessed regardless in 2012 when the UK digital television switchover is due to be completed, making freeview channels available to around 95 per cent of the population.