Sky Sports 'ignored Premier League rule' with Patrick Vieira half-time interview

Sky Sports 'ignored Premier League rules' in conducting a half-time interview with Patrick Vieira on Friday night.

Vieira's Crystal Palace side were beaten 2-0 by his former club Arsenal in the opening game of the season at Selhurst Park.

Gabriel Martinelli put Arsenal ahead 20 minutes in before an own goal from Marc Guehi wrapped up the victory five minutes from time.

But Vieira made history in giving the first ever half-time interview in the Premier League as part of a new change to coverage of top-flight fixtures.

Having agreed to the brief interview, the Frenchman answered a couple of questions and stressed the need for a fast start in the second half.

"I think [we] are a little bit disappointed to go 1-0 down at half time," he told Sky Sports as the teams walked out onto the pitch.

"We did a great job of finishing the first half, so it’s crucial that we get off to an equally strong start in the second."

Proposals were made back in April and were given a "warm reception" by the media department at clubs, who eventually voted in favour at the annual general meeting in June.

As per The Athletic, in section K of the Premier League rules, it states: "In respect of each league match to be transmitted live by a UK broadcaster, the UK broadcaster may request that the manager (or a senior member of the coaching staff) of either or each participating club provides an interview at the end of the half-time interval, before the re-start of the league match.

“The manager may elect to provide the interview requested or decline to do so, at his/her absolute discretion.”

However, it was initially communicated that those partaking in half-time interviews would be the managers of the winning sides, which was not the case with Vieira as his team were trailing.

The interval interviews could prove fascinating in giving fans tactical breakdowns of the first half from a manager's point of view and their take on major incidents.

A change that viewers weren't fond of was the new scoreboard on Sky Sports. Instead of the three letter acronym for each team, the top left hand corner of the screen featured both crests and it didn't go down well.

Featured Image Credit: Image: Sky Sports

Topics: Premier League, Sky Sports, Patrick Vieira, Arsenal, Crystal Palace

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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