FA boss criticized over TV deal

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Lars-ke Lagrell, the chairman of the country’s Football Association (FA), has come under increasing criticism for the TV deal he negotiated concerning the country’s top clubs and the country’s national team.

Peter Harryson, sporting director at Canal Plus, told SPORT-Expressen “Lagrell took the money and ran.”

Currently, Swedish TV viewers cannot watch the game of the week or use the pay-per-view option introduced two seasons ago. The Swedish FA sold the rights for that programming to Kentero for EUR 145 million and the Swiss company has failed to reach a deal with the country’s TV stations.

Harryson blames Lagrell, saying: ““It doesn’t look as if Lagrell wants us
to sort out an agreement. They are demanding unreasonable amounts of money. We are very far from each other at the moment. I can’t see us reaching a solution. If Lars-ke gets his way then we have to increase our subscription fees by several hundred kronor and, while he may be able to afford that, the majority of our customers won’t.”