Brentford supporters group BIAS has hit out at Sky Sports for moving the Boxing Day fixture with Aston Villa to a 7.30pm kick off.
Bees fans have reacted angrily to the move, with many supporters opting to stay away due to already making commitments with their families.
And the supporters group are planning a protest towards the broadcaster and EFL over the way games are chosen for television with the Bees' New Year's Day clash at Wolves moved back to January 2.
Their statement read: “BIAS deplores Sky's treatment of fans who yet again face difficult journeys at an important time of year for many, for the sake of television fixtures.
“While we understand the financial benefits, and the importance of income to the club, BIAS also question at what point the balance lies between taking every available income stream and protecting loyal fans. We understand it is difficult to say not to moving fixtures but would like to better understand the actual constraints.
“BIAS would like to ask the club to put to other EFL clubs that there should be some fixtures that should not be changed from the traditional timings such as Boxing Day and New Year fixtures. We know that campaigning of this type has worked recently in stopping Christmas Eve fixtures in the Premier League, so it is not impossible. We will also be contacting other clubs' fan groups through the FSF to suggest they do the same.
“We are interested to hear fans' views on this, and particularly Bees fans' ideas on how we could campaign/protest on this subject to Sky and the EFL.
“Why not come to our AGM at the Griffin Pub at 2pm on Saturday and talk to us, or see how you could get more involved?”
You can find out more about BIAS on their website http://bias.org.uk/.
