6:30 PM on a weekday: that is not a time for a first division football match to start. At least, that is what the RWDM and Union supporter clans thought, as they clearly stated last week. And the clubs themselves also share this opinion, because both the RWDM and Union players wore a t-shirt with a clear opinion when they arrived: “This is not an hour to play a derby #ForTheFans”.
Despite the heavy protests from the supporters of RWDM and Union, it was decided to start the match at 6:30 PM. The 8:45 PM slot was reserved for Club Brugge-KRC Genk. That topper ensures better viewing figures and the reasoning was that driving from Genk to Bruges in about an hour was completely unfeasible. Having both matches take place at 8:45 PM was also not an option, because the tender for the media contract that the Pro League – the collection of professional clubs – drew up in 2019 states that the matches must be spread out as much as possible to ensure maximum visibility. Rights holder Eleven/DAZN subsequently paid 103 million euros for the TV contract, to which this condition is attached. Eleven has therefore provided extra TV channels. It is therefore not possible to simply change those conditions.
The Union supporters boycotted the match and the away section remained empty. Except for one man: the driver of the Union players bus.