Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Bolton chairman, Phil Gartside, has revealed he turned down lucrative offers to televise their Uefa Cup game against Sporting Lisbon at the Reebok Stadium tomorrow because the kick-off time would not have suited supporters.
Bolton made club history to reach the last 16 and there is much interest in the first leg against the Portuguese side. Gartside wants to stay true to loyal supporters, even though Bolton could cash in on money from television broadcasters by selling the rights to the game.
"On what will be another memorable night in the club's history, we want to make our fans the priority," Gartside said. "We therefore needed to ensure that the match would kick off at a convenient time for the majority of supporters. We had one offer, which would have required us to kick off at 7pm. This would have left many people struggling to arrive on time after work.
"Another broadcaster requested a kick off time of 8.45pm, which would have been too late for the many younger supporters we have attracted to the game."
Bolton secured their place in the last 16 of the competition after they knocked Atletico Madrid out in the last round with a 1-0 aggregate victory. El Hadji Diouf scored the only goal of the first leg in front of 26,163 fans at the Reebok Stadium before Gary Megson's side held Atletico to a 0-0 draw at the Vicente Calderon in Madrid.
Wanderers now face Sporting at the Reebok tomorrow and then travel to Lisbon for the second leg at the Jose Alvalade Stadium on 13 March.
The club's commercial director, Gareth Moores, said he hoped the atmosphere at the Reebok for the match against Paulo Bento's side will be as good as the one for the win over Atletico.
"That game was memorable, not only for the victory, but also the stunning atmosphere generated by a sell-out crowd," Moore said. "We wanted to ensure that we were able to put the supporters in a position where that atmosphere can be replicated against Sporting. By kicking off at our traditional evening game time of 8pm, it puts our fans in a good position to do just that."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments