There will be one vital element missing from Sky Sports' coverage of the deadline day transfer drama next week: gangs of overexcited fans milling around behind the presenters.
The broadcaster has taken the "unprecedented step" of asking clubs to allow its reporters into stadiums and training grounds on Monday, where the public are not allowed, reports the Daily Telegraph. It is an attempt to avoid the mayhem that erupted on deadline day last year.
It's not hard to understand why Sky have made the decision, says the Daily Mirror, after its "shambolic coverage of the summer window closure descended into chaos as fans repeatedly interrupted live reports with a number of obscene gestures".
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One presenter was prodded with a sex toy during a live interview, a blow up sex doll made an unexpected appearance at one ground, there were several instances of fans swearing and shouting obscenities and there were threatening anti-Sky chants and banners at Selhurst Park, home of Crystal Palace.
Comedian Simon Brodkin, playing the character of Liverpudlian footballer Jason Bent, also gatecrashed the rolling broadcast as he attempted to reveal he had signed for QPR.
There were several complaints to Ofcom about September's coverage, and there were calls for Sky to tone down the somewhat hysterical nature of its reporting.
The broadcaster appears to have taken note. This edition of the deadline day jamboree will involve more studio analysis in an attempt to "spare its reporters from humiliation", reports The Guardian. Coverage is unlikely to feature live updates from clubs that do not allow reporters into private areas and there will be attempts to limit public participation to social media.
"As well as health-and-safety and taste-and-decency considerations in the wake of September's problems, Sky would have been conscious of the fact next week's deadline day takes place in the midst of the Premier League television rights auction," notes the Telegraph. "A repeat of last year's scenes might have prompted an Ofcom investigation, the regulator having let it off the hook at the time."
