Two German TV stations "complained about UEFA censorship after the governing body failed to supply footage of clashes between Russia and England supporters at the end of Saturday's Euro 2016 match," according to Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN. ARD and ZDF, which hold the Euro 2016 broadcasting rights in Germany, "complained that the worldwide TV feed produced by UEFA did not show the turmoil on the stands, leaving commentators to cover the incidents without any footage." ARD European Championship Team Dir Jorg Schonenborn said, "We want to have access to all footage. That is our stance. That's why we have demanded that UEFA ensure this. Essentially, it is about credibility. It won't wash when important events are cut out." ZDF "had the rights to screen the match live on Saturday" and ZDF Sports Dir Dieter Gruschwitz said, "We'd like to think that we get all relevant footage. This not only includes what happens on the pitch but also everything that happens off the pitch." UEFA said over the weekend that it did not want "scenes of violence" to be shown on TV.
It added that the German TV stations "could have shown the incidents with their own cameras had they wished to do so" (ESPN, 6/14).
