Leeds United have banned the BBC from Elland Road press conferences. 

An announcement on BBC Radio Leeds tweeted here by Andrew Haigh from The Sun newspaper said;

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That tweet followed an earlier one from BBC Radio Leeds giving few clues as to the cause of the ban;


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So far, neither the BBC or Leeds United have explained the ban but it’s believed Ken Bates took exception to a programme being produced by the BBC on Leeds United’s ownership.

This is not the first time Ken Bates’ Leeds United have banned a respected news organisation from the ground for trying to uncover details surrounding the club’s ownership. Back in October 2009, The Guardian were also banned from Elland Road following a series of reports from David Conn.

The club can justify banning a newspaper like The Guardian by claiming they had no proof to substantiate the claims they made. But to ban the BBC; an organisation owned by the people and respected across the world for being able to report with absolute objectivity, free from financial and political sway is absolutely ridiculous.

By banning the BBC Ken Bates is simply inviting more people to question his takeover(s) of the club. The BBC is not an organisation Ken Bates can control by manipulation and threats of denied access, so I have absolutely no idea what he was hoping to achieve?

Closing the doors when the BBC attempt to investigate is the clearest admission of guilt Ken Bates could send. Guilty of what however remains the million pound question.

You can hear the announcement that the BBC has been denied access to the press conferences here on the BBC Radio Leeds page. It’s the only one dated today (04/08/2011) and is around the 04:30 mark.