Row looms over free-to-air shakeup for TV sport

including the Ashes, Wimbledon and international football qualifiers are likely to be added to the list of those reserved for live coverage on free-to-air television. Inspired by viewing figures of up to 11.8 million for Andy Murray's fourth-round tie at last year's Wimbledon, the whole of the tournament will be added to the list, rather than just the finals, and rugby union internationals in Wales, which can attract more than seven in 10 viewers, are also due to be included, according to sources close to the independent review led by the former FA executive director David Davies. The sources revealed there had been a "radical" shakeup, resulting in a shorter but more coherent list of events – those with a "special national resonance" – that must be available on free-to-air television in either highlights or live form. The Epsom Derby and the rugby league cup final are expected to be dropped from the list, which could reduce their chances of attracting sponsorship and maintaining their visibility beyond core fans. Governing bodies are preparing to go on the attack, arguing the new rules will severely damage their ability to fund grassroots sport. The England and Wales Cricket Board has argued that the ?300m Sky pays for exclusive rights has enabled a huge investment programme in state schools, community clubs and the women's game. The Scottish Football Association has claimed it will lose ?12m a year. While the likes of the FA Cup final and the Olympics will remain on the live A-list, the so-called B-list, for highlights, is likely to be axed altogether. Following 10 months of hearings, research and input from overseas, the panel's conclusions will be delivered to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and published within a week. It is expected that a frenzied 12-week period of consultation will follow. The culture secretary, Ben Bradshaw, and the sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, who will ultimately decide whether to accept the panel's recommendations, face a race against time to get any changes on to the statute book ahead of next year's general election. Governing bodies will argue that the proposals will hit funding for grassroots sport and demand an independent economic analysis; BBC and ITV will champion the need to ensure key moments reach the widest audience in order to inspire future sporting stars. When the panel – a mix of former sports stars, academics and broadcasters including Colin Jackson, Dougie Donnelly and Eamonn Holmes – convened at the beginning of the year, it was expected the status quo would broadly be maintained, perhaps with the addition of some Twenty20 cricket to the free-to-air list. Instead, Davies will deliver a "radical" vision and is likely to recommend that the issue is re-examined on a more regular basis than the existing 10-year cycle, with the digital switchover in 2012 looming. The panel is thought to have accepted the argument that international football qualifiers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland together with rugby in Wales, should be added to the list. ITV and the BBC lobbied heavily for their inclusion, arguing that devolution had made their argument stronger. Sport TV Television industry Owen Gibson guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

match that often develops when leading teams meet, but the Italian prevailed. There were overtones, too, of one of his predecessors. Chelsea had less of a commitment to attack and were ready to bide their time and that attitude would have earned applause from Jose Mourinho. United, as in former years, left Stamford Bridge trailing grievances behind them. With justification, Ferguson bemoaned the 76th minute winner, complaining about Martin Atkinson's award of the free-kick for a supposed foul by the outstanding Darren Fletcher on Ashley Cole. The manager had recriminations left over for a protest that Didier Drogba had been off-side as John Terry headed in the Frank Lampard set-piece His main reproaches will be made to his squad in private. He can admire the enterprise of a United line-up far from full strength, but that must make him all the more exasperated that they did not make more of the dominant spells. The visitors join Arsenal in being five points adrift of the leaders Chelsea. Ancelotti's outlook, in truth, is not generally similar to that of Mourinho, but there was a patience and endurance at Stamford Bridge. Those traits were indispensible when some of the key characters in the Chelsea camp kept a relatively low profile. Lampard, despite taking the key free-kick, was no menace to United in open play. Drogba, the often irresistible striker, was well-marshalled, despite the fact that Rio Ferdinand missed the match through a calf strain and Nemanja Vidic was only in good enough condition to be an unused substitute. The supposed weaknesses in the back four deepened a desire to take the play to Chelsea, but Dimitar Berbatov was absent through injury as well. Ferguson did not have the trust to pitch Michael Owen on from the start and, until the final moments, Rooney worked alone in attack. Chelsea are expert at checking even the outstanding footballers and when Rooney had broken clear, in the sixth minute, he was wrongly given off-side. It would be churlish not to pardon United if they headed north feeling sorry for themselves. There had been openings, with Petr Cech turning behind a good effort from Rooney in the 69th minute. None the less, Chelsea had a plan and it delivered the required victory. Ancelotti's side did not seek to force the issue and never seemed to panic when pinned back. In view of the make-up of that defence, it is logical that Ancelotti should feel there need be no rush to score. The Chelsea formation, with its midfield diamond and twin strikers, sound romantic and can deliver excitement, but it also allows for the team to get back in numbers, with even Nicolas Anelka happy to drift towards a midfielder's role at times. A fixture of this sort is exciting in prospect, the initial placidity of the play, particularly from Chelsea, should not have baffled anyone. The visitors had the more recognisable intent to attack, but Ferguson might have engineered a throng in midfield even if every attacker on his books had been in condition to take part. By and large, the match was innocuous before the interval. United had impetus, without looking as if they could reach a conclusion. Chelsea, for their part, seemed in no hurry. Half-an-hour had gone before Anelka produced an effort that called for a good save by Edwin van der Sar. United's showing was superior to the one given at Anfield, but there is close resemblance to the outcomes. Ferguson's team also looked unlikely to hit the net when beaten 2-0 by Liverpool. While the manager did not have all his personnel available here, it does appear that the departed Cristiano Ronaldo will be missed for quite a while to come when there are fixtures of this sort to be faced. Chelsea are in contrasting circumstances. At incredible expense, they have retained just about everyone they really want on the books. Barring a splurge in January or next summer, Ancelotti will continue to rely on a group that then grows old together. Not even the famed Milan sports science he has brought to London will entirely halt physical decline. A sunnier view will maintain that the old guard is capable of continuing to succeed for such a prolonged period that they can gradually and painlessly make way for successors. No one in United ranks saw much evidence of imminent collapse. What is more, Chelsea had a resourcefulness of sorts. It was scarcely anticipated that Drogba, who has probably been the most impressive character so far in the Premier League season, would make little impression on an improvised United defence. Whatever else keeps Ferguson awake at nights it will not be a horror that his men lack the appetite for a fourth title in a row. His opposite number, all the same, has lost nothing in translation from Serie A. These encounters with United must continue to grip just as they did in his Milan years. Leagues are not necessarily decided by the clashes of the principal clubs, but there is an indication now that Chelsea will be as mighty a force as they were in the Mourinho era. Premier League Manchester United Chelsea Kevin McCarra guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti linked arms as they meandered towards the dug-out before kick-off. That bonhomie may be doomed if Manchester United go on suffering at the hands of the Italian's Chelsea side. It was the sort of grinding, unsatisfactory...

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08.11.2009. 23:18h

Wayne Rooney and Nicolas Anelka sit pretty above the rough and tumble

Bridge were put on hold for 90 minutes as Chelsea and Manchester United fought out a bitter contest for supremacy at the top of the Premier League, with no concession to beauty or entertainment. This, too, is football, thank goodness. The game cannot survive on an unrelieved diet of dainty stepovers, geometrical build-ups and goals of the month flying in from improbable angles. It needs its edge, its bared teeth, its tribal memory of muddy marshes and bloody scars. Just not too often, please. So what happened yesterday was forgivable, bearing in mind the reward for the winner. Expectations of a banquet of elegant football were always likely to be dashed as the two teams came together in a clash of ambitions, with pride, points and pre-eminence equally at stake. At times it was like watching two military bands marching towards each other, all blaring brass and crashing cymbals. The woodwind and string sections were left at home as both outfits tried to make their strong, simple tunes prevail. Any hint of a grace note was immediately drowned in a rude fanfare. United should have been awarded a penalty when John Terry shouldered Antonio Valencia aside in the 14th minute, and the free-kick that led to the only goal, awarded against Darren Fletcher for a perceived foul on Ashley Cole in the 76th minute, might well not have been given, while the goal itself should have been annulled as Didier Drogba, in an offside position after dragging down Wes Brown, strayed into Edwin van der Sar's eyeline. But a rough match will often be decided by rough justice. Amid the jarring cross-rhythms, two individual performances lifted themselves above the m?lée. One, that of Nicolas Anelka, was rewarded with what appeared to be the winning goal – for the slightest touch redirecting Terry's glancing header – and the man of the match award. The other, that of Wayne Rooney, went totally without recompense. Amid a Chelsea team able to create few chances Anelka was the only consistent source of danger. Dropping deep to take possession, he accelerated smoothly past defenders with an elan which demonstrated that, at 30, he has lost none of the prodigious speed with the ball at his feet that he displayed when making his first appearances for Arsenal as an unknown 17-year-old. Perhaps he and Drogba will never make the perfect pair of strikers – they lack the natural closeness and the complementary qualities of Eusebio and Torres, Keegan and Toshack, Stoichkov and Romario, Radford and Kennedy – but no defence can ever rest when they are operating together, spreading the threat across the width of the field and, in their different ways, forcing their opponents to confront a physical challenge. Whereas the Frenchman and the Ivorian were sharing the burden for Chelsea, Rooney was invited to compensate for the absence of the injured Dimitar Berbatov by playing a solitary role in attack. The England international never says no and he responded by giving a display of unquenchable effort, drive and skill. A constant presence around the edge of the Chelsea area, he was nevertheless to be found, in the 39th minute, chasing back towards the corner flag to reach Branislav Ivanovic's penetrating pass just ahead of Anelka. In the opening three minutes of the second half he created two chances from which United should have taken the lead. The first, a perfectly weighted square pass for Fletcher, was wasted with a shot over the bar from 20 yards out. The second came when he met a long clearance and guided it into the path of Giggs, whose first-time transfer to Anderson, charging past theright flank of a hopelessly stretched defence, was angled with wasteful imprecision. After United had taken a quick free-kick in the 67th minute, Rooney drove Valencia's cut-back wide of the post. A minute later, in the afternoon's single moment of resplendent virtuosity, he met Giggs's pass with a lovely inside-out turn, throwing his marker off balance and shifting the ball on to his right foot for a glorious shot palmed away by the flying Petr Cech. Sir Alex Ferguson has never been afraid to introduce a tactical novelty on a big occasion and yesterday he invited Anderson to perform as the closest support to Rooney. This is a role that the Brazilian filled on a regular basis at Porto, his previous club, but he was seldom close enough yesterday to offer Rooney much in the way of assistance, spending most of his time sweeping in front of United's two central midfielders. A more adventurous strategy might have brought greater dividends, as well as improving the spectacle. Premier League Wayne Rooney Manchester United Chelsea Richard Williams guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Artistry and beauty are put on hold as Chelsea and Manchester United fight for supremacy Winning ugly, they call it. And that was certainly ugly. Roman Abramovich's hopes that Carlo Ancelotti would bring a new age of artistry and enlightenment to Stamford...

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08.11.2009. 23:16h

Queen's, Hornchurch We used to moan about the dominance of thrillers, farces and drawing room comedies in their theatrical heyday. Now they have all but disappeared, they have acquired a nostalgic charm. Which is one reason for welcoming this revival...

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08.11.2009. 23:00h

Remembrance Sunday: Rising numbers gather at Cenotaph to pay tribute

Sunday is merely a poignant tribute to ancient sorrows half dissolved into history. It looks to the television cameras as if huge numbers have assembled every year, but although the spectators are always 10 deep around the Cenotaph, the crowds usually thin out further along the street. This time latecomers couldn't get close enough even to see the giant TV screens. Almost 10,000 ex?service personnel and civilians joined the march after the official ceremony, taking 40 minutes to pass the Cenotaph originally built in 1919 as a temporary memorial to the war to end all wars. There were many children struggling gallantly to get into step with parents and grandparents, and thousands more among the spectators. David Howells brought his teenage sons, Andrew and Joseph, from Perthshire to the ceremony. He is appalled at the deaths of soldiers only a few years older than them in Afghanistan. "I don't really understand what they're doing there," said Andrew, 13. "I think they should just pull them out." Hugh Murphy, an army catering corps veteran of Cyprus and Aden, broke into the conversation: "They're going to have to get them out, but if they pull them out now, there will be a bloodbath, and it will spread terrorism on our streets, I'm telling you." The boys seemed about to contradict him, then politely fell silent. Murphy patted his hip: "Got a knife stuck in me there in Aden. I don't blame the Arab who did it, but he didn't clean his knife first, that was the problem." The ceremony, as ever, was a reminder of how we that are left do indeed grow old. Prince Harry laying a wreath for the first time, while his father is on an official visit to Canada, now towers over his ramrod-straight grandfather. Gordon Brown looked ashy with weariness, and Tony Blair as old as or older than Sir John Major standing beside him. The last British veterans of the first world war, Henry Allingham, Harry Patch and Bill Stone, joined ceremonies last year marking the 90th anniversary of the armistice, but all three have died since then. Some of the second world war veterans, who insisted on struggling out of wheelchairs to march past the Cenotaph, looked very fragile. Remembrance Day services were held in Afghanistan, and the growing casualty list from Helmand province was referred to at many services across Britain. The archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, did not specifically refer to Afghanistan, but said at Catterick garrison in North Yorkshire: "All those currently at risk and all those who are to be at risk shortly, all those closely bound to us by friendship and family ties, currently face something of what soldiers in earlier liberations faced." At a requiem mass at Westminster Cathedral, Right Reverend Richard Moth, Bishop of the Forces, called for diplomatic as well as military initiatives in Afghanistan and said: "While there is no such thing as war without risk, those currently serving deserve all the necessary support and resources they need to fulfil the task they have been given in such a way that this risk is reduced as much as possible." Remembrance Day Military Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Almost 10,000 ex-service personnel and civilians join march after official ceremony The long, broad sweep of Whitehall was already full an hour before the Queen laid her wreath at the Cenotaph in London, on a day when no one present could feel that Remembrance...

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08.11.2009. 22:57h

• 'They are family,' says new vice-chairman • Blues will be able to join new Super League The recent takeover of Birmingham City by the Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung should bring huge benefits to the Blues women's team, who for the first time since...

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08.11.2009. 22:17h

• Tom Huddlestone and Stephen Warnock also included in squad • No place for Steven Gerrard or Ashley Cole Darren Bent has been recalled to the England squad for next week's friendly with Brazil in Qatar. Bent has scored eight goals for Sunderland this...

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08.11.2009. 21:56h

The only aspect of this fixture that lived up to expectation was the contentiousness. The Premier League leaders, Chelsea, moved five points clear of Manchester United with a goal of murky origins. Darren Fletcher wrongly had a foul awarded against him...

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08.11.2009. 20:04h

University expels mini-skirt student

Private university takes out ads attacking Geisy Arruda after she was heckled by hundreds of students for her dress A Brazilian university has publicly expelled a woman who was heckled by hundreds of fellow students for wearing a short, pink skirt to...

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08.11.2009. 19:56h

Falkirk 3-3 Celtic

Falkirk could have celebrated their first league victory of the season. Mowbray, visibly a man feeling the heat in his new post, admitted to a "mentally tired" display from his players. "It was as poor as we have been all season," said the manager. His concerns, moreover, do not begin and end in defence with so many of his attacking players struggling for form. There was not even a hint of things to come during a dour first half. Falkirk dominated for long spells without unduly troubling Lukasz Zaluska in the visiting goal. Zaluska's opposite number, Robert Olejnik, was the hosts' hero two minutes before the break as he first blocked an Aiden McGeady penalty before brilliantly saving the same player's rebound attempt with his foot. Celtic's strikers had been anonymous during that opening 45 minutes, so it was little surprise when a defender, Gary Caldwell, headed them in front from Barry Robson's free-kick. Caldwell, who has endured a troubled season, soon offered up his latest misdemeanour. A foul on Ryan Flynn handed Falkirk a penalty, Scott Arfield succeeding where McGeady could not by restoring parity. Flynn supplied Pedro Moutinho as Falkirk surged in front. McDonald, a peripheral figure under Mowbray, stepped from the bench to head home a Danny Fox cross and promptly convert a Georgios Samaras pass at the back post to hand Celtic the scent of victory. Such aspirations proved overly optimistic. The outstanding Flynn, a former Liverpool trainee, was again involved with a cute through pass which Mark Stewart collected before supplying an angled drive. Celtic could at least take solace from the fact that any proposed protest from their supporters amid a pre-match minute's silence to mark Remembrance Sunday failed to materialise, inside the ground at least. Hundreds of them entered the match late and chanting was audible from outside the stadium; neither instance, though, is particularly uncommon. Man of the match Ryan Flynn (Falkirk) Scottish Premier League Falkirk Celtic Ewan Murray guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The latest glaring examples of Celtic's defensive frailties ensured Tony Mowbray's men could only extend their lead over Rangers in the Scottish Premier League to two points. But for the interventions of the Celtic substitute Scott McDonald, indeed, bottom-of-the-table...

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08.11.2009. 19:56h

Tom Jenkins takes in Chelsea's 1-0 defeat of Manchester United at Stamford Bridge Tom Jenkins

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08.11.2009. 19:42h