DESPITE Sky TV stepping into purchase the rights to screen live Nationwide football for the next four seasons for £90million, which had been left vacant in the wake of the ITV Digital fiasco, Orient chairman Barry Hearn is urging all O's fans to continue with protests against both Carlton and Granada.o

s=9Hearn who joined up with the other 71 Football League chairman yesterday to mount a protest outside the London headquarters of both the ITV big guns still believes that they should be held accountable for the non-payment of TV rights fees, as the new Sky deal will leave clubs with a huge financial shortfall.o

Yesterday's protest kicked of a 13 day campaign by chairman, club representatives and fans of each Football League team, which will include O's supporters being asked to join up with fans from Leicester City, Lincoln City, Luton Town, Macclesfield Town and Mansfield Town outside the offices of Carlton and Granada next Thursday.

Speaking about the latest developments in this ongoing saga Hearn said: "Under the ITV deal the Football League was going to receive £115m a year, but under the Sky deal we will receive £25m a season.

"So while we are happy that Sky stepped in there is still a 90 million pound a year shortfall and we believe that should be honoured by Carlton and Granada the parent companies of ITV Digital.

"So we must still pursue them with all our strength to get what we feel is rightfully ours.

"It is important for the public, plus both Carlton and Granada to see that it is not just the Football League chairman who feel aggrieved because I think the ordinary fan should make their point as well.

"So in that respect I would urge them to back a very peaceful demonstration against a company that has not honoured its word."

Hearn's sentiments are echoed by Football League spokesman John Nagle, who added: "Just because we have an agreement in place with Sky, it doesn't ultimately change the situation because there is still a huge shortfall in the two agreements, so it is important for all clubs and their fans to press ahead with these protests."

Even if the demonstrations don't encourage Carlton and Granada to hand over the £178million owed to the League, the Orient chairman is fairly confident that a High Court case due to start on July 26 will go against the the TV boys.

He continued: "At the moment it still looks like we will be taking them to court and we have to hope that our case is as strong as our legal advisers say it is."

Despite having a good case Hearn is however less than impressed with the Government's intervention in the matter. He said: "I think they should have been more proactive and while it is very admirable for them to applaud England's efforts at the World Cup it is particularly naive not to understand that those efforts would not be possible without the grassroots of professional football."

Hearn is equally as cutting with the Home Office officials who last week turned down Orient's appeal to get a work permit for Jamaican keeper Donovan Ricketts.

He stated: "We were very disappointed at the out come because we presented an excellent case to make a slight exception on the fact that Donovan had only played 73 and a half percent instead of 75 percent of international games.

"It would have been a major boost if we could have got him, but what can you do with these people because they sit there and smile at you while listening to your case but still come back and say no.

"They probably had already made their mind up two or three days before they even entered the room with us and the cynics will probably say that if it were Manchester United it wouldn't have been a problem."

July 11, 2002 12:30