Brighton accused of ‘dangerous precedent’ for ban on Guardian

Brighton & Hove Albion has been accused of setting a “dangerous precedent”, as it faced criticism for banning Guardian reporters and photographers from home matches after reports on allegations concerning the club’s owner.

- Michael Savage Paul Macinnes

MPs, media and football supporter groups accused the Premier League club of attacking press freedom after its decision to bar the Guardian from the Amex Stadium for coverage of allegations relating to Tony Bloom.

The club notified the Guardian late on Saturday to say it felt it “would be inappropriate for journalists and photographers from the Guardian to be accredited to matches at the Amex, starting from Sunday’s game against West Ham”.

The allegations about Bloom, a billionaire who has made his money from gambling, have raised questions from MPs.

Dawn Alford, the chief executive of the Society of Editors, said the ban was “deeply concerning”.

“There isa legitimate public interest in the questions raised by the Guardian’s reporting and journalists everywhere must be free to carry out their important role without fear or favour on behalf of the public? she said.

Caroline Dinenage, the chair ofthe Commons culture select committee, said it was part of “a concerning trend of football clubs restricting access to journalists because of things that have been written about them”.

“Football clubs are a major part of ourcommunities and whilst they are entitled to expect fair and accurate reporting, it is right that they should be opentoscrutiny and transparency for the fans,” she said.