THE Football League has defended the decision to move Derby County's clash with Leicester City to a Thursday night for television coverage.
The League says Derby's home game against Leicester has been chosen for TV because it is one of the "standout" fixtures of the Championship season and has been moved to a Thursday due to a hectic schedule of matches on Sky that weekend.
Derby were scheduled to meet the Foxes at Pride Park on Saturday, February 25, but the game has been brought forward to Thursday, February 23, at 7.45pm.
Some fans have questioned why it has been moved to a Thursday.
A Football League spokesman said: "Sky Sports is committed to showing every Championship club at home this season and have not yet been to Pride Park.
"Derby County v Leicester City is one of the standout matches of the Championship season and with the Carling Cup Final and a Premier League programme also being played that weekend, it was felt that Thursday night would be the best opportunity to give the match the audience it deserves.
"In what is always a very crowded fixture schedule, it is not uncommon for Sky to utilise different days of the week to show live matches.
"However, The Football League and Sky Sports endeavour to give at least 28 days' notice when rearranging fixture dates in order to minimise the amount of disruption to fans."
