UEFA under fire due to doctering Euro2012 Live TV-feed

The European football governing body UEFA is under fire because of showing recorded pre-match footage during live football matches of the 2012 European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine. Especially in Germany the outcry has been huge due to two instances where it was been proven that recorded footage had been placed into the live feed.

With the television feed produced centrally by UEFA and then distributed to all official rights holders, the channels themselves do not know what they are getting and if a scene is live or has been added by the live director.

The German state television broadcasters ARD and ZDF, who share the live rights for the Euro2012, had already protested after the first instance when Joachim Löw pinching a ball from a ball boy during his teams Group B match against the Netherlands. But later it was disclosed that the footage was pre-recorded and Löw didn't do such mischief during a high tension football match.

Then came the second instance which to me is even worse. A German female fan is shown crying after Mario Balotelli scores his second of the night against Germany. But again the footage was not live, it had actually been recorded when the German anthem was being played. A total distortion of facts and reality which is dangerous especially with off field football.

UEFA claims it was trying to show "the human story of the game... to translate the emotion and tension of German fans", but had now issued instructions "not to use these reactions again directly in a chain of replays of live action, to avoid any misleading understanding".


Here the footage of the Löw incidence, recorded pre-match & telecast as live