AN SNP MP has welcomed commitments from broadcasters following discussions on televising Scotland national football games on free-to-air channels.
On Thursday, Gavin Newlands chaired a roundtable discussion with a number of broadcasters, who said they want fans to have the “maximum level of access” to the men’s national team.
Organisations taking part included BBC Scotland and Alba, Sky, STV, Channel 4, Viaplay, and the Scottish Football Association.
The Paisley and Renfrewshire North MP said Scotland’s international football matches should be free to watch in the same way England and Wales games are.
He will now press the UK Government to help find a solution so Scottish fans can watch matches without having to pay.
Newlands thanked the broadcasters and stakeholders who attended the discussion for their "engagement and commitment", and said they had no obligations to go but did and should be "applauded".
He added: “Collectively there is a commitment to making sure Scottish football fans can have the maximum level of access to their men’s national team on TV – I am pleased to have come out of today’s discussion with a number of options to pursue that work for everyone.
“As England fans can watch their games on Channel 4 and Wales on S4C, it is possible that Scotland games can be given similar treatment.
“As broadcasting is reserved I would now want to take today’s discussions to the UK Government and encourage them to find a solution that can ensure Scotland fans can watch the national side.
“I want to see games available to everyone in Scotland as soon as possible and I will carry on pushing and working with all stakeholders to get to a point where fans in Scotland can watch their team without being hit in the pocket.”
The issue came to a head after Scotland’s unexpected triumph over Spain in the Euro qualifiers on March 28. Steve Clarke’s side beat the former world champions 2-0, but fans were only able to watch the game if they had forked out for the Viaplay streaming service.
But on the same day, Wales’s game against Latvia was broadcast for free on the S4C channel. And two days earlier, England’s Euro qualifier against Ukraine had been broadcast live on Channel 4.
