TV football shambles results in loss of service for hundreds of pubs

Widespread confusion led to loss of service in hundreds of pubs during last week's clash between England and Finland.

Licensees with cable were denied access to the pay-per-view coverage and others paid in advance but could not receive it on the night.

A spokeswoman for U>Direct, which bought the commercial and domestic rights to the match, said all pubs with Sky Digital should have been able to access the coverage, but many licensees remained confused about how to book it. Pubs with cable could not pick up the live satellite broadcast.

Stan Gardener, licensee of the Royal Oak in Wolverhampton, said he had lost around £600, with customers going elsewhere to see the match.

He added: "I called the Telewest cable people and was told that I could only have the match if I was a domestic customer. I pay £253 a month for this."

Licensee Debbie Heggarty of the Dog & Pot in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, said: "I am so angry. No-one would help me even though I rang well before the game to say there were technical problems. I had paid weeks before so now I want compensation."

A spokeswoman for U>Direct denied there was a technical problem with the ordering system but added: "I think the confusion lay with the fact that people thought because they were Sky customers they could just order the match in the same way. We are independent."

Iain Holden, commercial director of Skybusiness, said: "We have said we will never put an England match on pay-per-view." He confirmed that responsibility lay with U>Direct.