Pubs will miss out on England match

Pubs will not be able to screen England's World Cup qualifier against the Ukraine.

The game, being played on Saturday (10 October), will only be shown to subscribers on the internet who will have to pay £4.99 for the service if they sign up before Wednesday. The price rises to £9.99 on Thursday and Friday and £11.99 on Saturday.

The game is expected to be shown in a number of Odeon cinemas but will not be available to pubs. The rights to the game were sold to Perform by agency Kentaro, following the collapse of Setanta UK.

A condition for downloading the game is that is it not for "any commercial purposes whatsoever".

"This means, for example, that you must not charge any third party for viewing the match and that you cannot use the site to attract others to buy goods or services from you or anyone else."

Odeon is believed to have struck a specific deal with Kentaro to screen the games at the cinema chain.

A spokesman for the English FA said: "We have absolutely no say over the broadcast rights of this game."

All Party Beer Group chair and Labour MP John Grogan, who is campaigning for more free-to-air sports games, slammed the move as "ridiculous".

He said: "It is quite ridiculous that the national football team is being hidden away. The great thing about sports matches is that they can be enjoyed together with friends and family but hunched up over a computer screen seems a very lonely way to watch a game.

"In my view, all World Cup qualifying games should be added to the protected list of games available on a free-to-air basis."

The Davis Committee is currently reviewing which sporting events should be given protected status.

British Beer and Pub Association director of communications Mark Hastings added: "Pubs are the natural place where people come together to support the national team.

"Not being able to screen the England game will be a real blow — especially as pubs already invest heavily in bringing live sport to millions, every week.

"Many pubs sponsoring their local football teams will see players returning from their weekend matches disappointed, as they can't enjoy the game together in the pub."