The editor of the Southern Daily Echo has called for an urgent meeting with Southampton Football Club over its ban on press photographers at home games.

Editor-in-chief Ian Murray has broken the Southampton paper’s silence over the controversial ban which was brought in by the club last week.

He said the paper is ‘deeply concerned’ about the move, which has been introduced by the club so it can sell images taken by its own photographers.

Ian said the newspaper has joined regional and national press across the country in choosing not to buy any of the club’s own photos.

An editorial published yesterday said: “The Daily Echo is deeply concerned about the club’s stance and, along with the rest of the British media, has chosen not to purchase the club’s photographs.

“Up to now, the Daily Echo has chosen to keep quiet about this matter in the hope that it could be amicably resolved.

“Regrettably, this did not prove to be the case and today we break our silence now that this issue has become so widely publicised.

“This is not a petty commercial squabble, a simple matter of newspapers objecting to putting their hands in their pockets.

“On the contrary, the media’s backlash has resulted from the unacceptable breach of a fundamental principle of British life: the freedom of expression and of free press.”

It adds the Daily Echo’s impartiality and integrity would be compromised if it had to depend on photos selectively released by the club – but the paper would do what it could to provide its readers with comprehensive coverage of matches.

A number of papers have found unusual ways around the ban, while Nicola Cortese, the club’s executive chairman, has come under repeated criticism for it.

The Echo is also reporting today the owner of the football club Markus Liebherr, 62, has died suddenly.

Comments

Dave (12/08/2010 10:32:27)
Is anybody else getting really bored of this now?

realword (12/08/2010 10:33:33)
Good to see a local paper standing up to the local football club.
Some are just limp fanzines plugging the club line and afraid to criticise club policy in case they lose contacts.

supersnapper (12/08/2010 10:37:47)
Many local papers supply their local football clubs with images taken by their photographgers;for use in the club’s programme (usually free).Would it not make sense for these clubs to refuse entry to Saints snappers in future. and suggest that they get match images from their local paper?.This would mean the Southampton may or may not get any away matches covered

John Nurden (12/08/2010 11:03:48)
Good for Ian. Football clubs sometimes just get too big for their boots. The Kent Evening Post had a similar long-running saga with Gillingham FC and ended up sending their snapper to a room overlooking the ground…

HR (12/08/2010 11:59:36)
Question: Why do Southampton think they have something unique. They are a League 1 side, deprive them and they sponsors of the exclusivity they want by not publishing anything and that will bring them to their sensors the hard reality of no publicity is possibly the best cure

Diesel74 (12/08/2010 13:09:19)
The papers need to sell copies and matchday reports are, or at least used to be, good sellers. However, take a brave stance. Don’t carry any copy. The fans will then join the battlecry and the club will have to realise how stupid it is being.
Yours,
Naive of nowhere

Richard Orange (13/08/2010 15:28:25)
Is this coverage somewhat stilted? A football club wants to make money by circulating photographs of games held on its own property, to anyone regardless of whether they read the local ‘rag’. That’s an outrageous commercial liberty and an affront to democracy and Magna Carta. A newspaper publisher wants to go onto someone else’s property in order to take pictures of games – and presumably charge reproduction fees – and that has nothing to do with making money or selling newspapers … perish the thought.