The Football League is encouraging TV viewers to watch the BBC and not ITV on Friday when both channels will be covering the England-Brazil game. The Football League is joining fans' groups in taking action against Carlton and Granada, the owners of collapsed channel ITV Digital.

A Football League spokesman said: "Carlton and Granada are cynically seeking to earn revenue off the success of the England team, through advertising, while at the same time their actions threaten to destroy the bedrock of the English game.

"The Football League would like to ask all those who love the game and love our clubs to watch England's remaining World Cup games on the BBC in preference to ITV."

So far the BBC have trounced ITV when the two have gone head-to-head. 12.4 million people watched the Denmark match on the BBC with just 3.2 million viewing on ITV.

The Football League plans to stage two weeks of mass protest outside Carlton and Granada's offices. The chairmen and fans of the 72 Football League clubs will line the pavements for 12 days in the run-up to the court action the league has brought against the two companies. The case begins on July 26th.

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