Leeds facing sanctions for denying TV access for match

Including Tuesday’s match with Derby, Sky have chosen 10 Leeds matches for live coverage this season already, forcing the club to frequently change match times and dates with Cellino claiming the changes also reduced attendances.

Tom Ince rescued a point for Derby County to keep their automatic promotion hopes on track in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Leeds that will have delighted the broadcasters Sky. He’s got things he wants to discuss with the Football League and that lies at boardroom level and I don’t get involved in that.

Tonight’s game marks the third time a Leeds United game is televised.

“It’s been a busy period, we’ve played six games and we have another very big game on Saturday at Middlesbrough, so you take those things into consideration”.

“Perhaps a point shared might be right but I can’t help but feel immensely proud of the group, their quality and their attention to detail”.

“We’re a different team now”.

Leeds’s controversial owner, Massimo Cellino, has instructed staff at the club not to allow Sky’s crews into the ground this evening in defiance of the league’s broadcasting agreement.

Leeds’ owner and chairman told Mirror Football from his home in Miami: “I’m trying to protect the club”.

“I have handsome people working with me now and handsome players – not overpaid as before”.

Leeds’ fixture with Derby is looking increasingly unlikely to be televised as a stand-off between the club and the Football League continues.

“Given Sky are to show 92 live games this season, a fair allocation would be four home games per club – so the selection by Sky is clearly unfair and the league are allowing this”, said Leeds in their statement.

But after the initial attempts to defy Football League regulation, the Yorkshire club have eventually backed down, but condemned the league authorities for “allowing Sky to unfairly disrupt Leeds United for their own commercial purposes”. Derby are the only other side with a dozen games either shown or slated.