American halftime interview?We never wanted to! First introduction of EPL, fan complaints explode over Arsenal Captain match interview

Aug 18, 2025

Capture=Sky Sports

"Why do you have to do an American-style half-time interview?"

Fans complained about the English Premier League's introduction of the `half-time interview' at the opening of this season.

At 0:30 a.m. on the 18th (Korea time), Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard stood in front of the broadcast camera of the EPL's opening match between Manchester United and Arsenal at half-time at Old Trafford, Manchester, England. It was shortly after Arsenal finished the first half with a 1-0 lead thanks to Ricardo Calafior's first goal, which did not miss the opponent's defense mistake in the 13th minute.

According to the Daily Mail, this season, the EPL secretariat signed a four-year TV broadcasting rights contract with Sky Sports and TNT Sports for 6.7 billion pounds (about 12 trillion won) and demanded more benefits as broadcasting rights. As a result, he was given more access to 'backstory' content inside and outside the ground, including interviews with U.S.-style half-time players and filming locker rooms, and the first half-time 외degaard interview between Manchester United and Arsenal was held on the same day.

However, the majority of football fans who watched Sky Sports say the half-time interview was not very impressive. While traditional 'Big 6' clubs were said to have opposed large-scale American changes, Oedegaard stood in front of the microphone and shared his thoughts on performance in the 45th minute. In a minute-long interview, Odegaard told Sky Sports that "Manchester United have quality and good strikers. Sometimes we allowed them to go through too easily, but at the same time we also had a lot of space in attack. When you get the ball back and counter-attack, if you were a little sharper in that moment, you could have more goal chances. It was so hectic. There was too much space, too open. When you don't own the ball, you need to control it better and maintain a denser form. You have to choose the right timing when you own the ball and be more accurate in counterattacks" commented in principle.

After Oedegaard's interview, viewers responded negatively on social media, asking if they had to do such an interview during the game. One fan via X commented: "'I don't like this American halftime interview at all. 'Leave the players alone' wrote another fan, 'It's ridiculous. There is no need to be interviewed at half-time when players should be focused on the game, he said. Other fans are saying 'Half-time interviews? We have never asked for this kind of ' this sham halftime interview is nonsense. Shouldn't the players rest and get instructions?' introduced this nonsense, and football is breaking down'It's really annoying that Odegaard is doing a half-time interview. It's an interview you don't need 'Captain should be in the locker room. There were complaints such as 'We need to discuss how to improve the second half.'"

Meanwhile, as part of the enhanced broadcasting package, touchline interviews with players replaced during the broadcast will also be introduced. If a goal is scored during live broadcast, camera staff were also allowed to temporarily enter the stadium so that they could film goal celebration at the closest distance. The Daily Mail wrote 'These elements are common features in American sports, but rarely seen at sporting events in the UK.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.