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The Morning Star 2026 Conference
Sports journalists must not be replaced by club propaganda
As football clubs expand their communications and exclude and restrict the press, KADEEM SIMMONDS asks for greater respect for the industry

I RECEIVED an email the other day telling me that until just over a decade ago the Morning Star was banned from Stamford Bridge.

It seems that the previous owner of Chelsea Ken Bates took exception to something a previous sports reporter for the Star wrote about the club and used his authority to prevent the paper from attending live matches.

I write this because of the recent spate of football clubs using their power to control who sits in their press boxes and what they write about their clubs.

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