Liverpool deny exclusive TalkSport deal for Champions League coverage as links to The Sun cause concern

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Liverpool have emphatically denied claims made by TalkSport that the radio station will broadcast the club’s Champions League home game with Hoffenheim tomorrow night following a supposed exclusivity agreement over live commentary.

TalkSport was bought by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation last year, the same organisation that owns The Sun newspaper, a paper that was banned from Anfield in February because of its reportage over the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.

On Monday night, the talkSPORTDrive Twitter handle – associated with controversial presenter Adrian Durham - announced: “Weds @LFC v Hoffenheim. The only national radio station with commentary of this game is @talkSPORT live from Anfield. #LFC.”

For Champions League fixtures, Uefa permits clubs to broker agreements independently with radio outlets for the complete coverage of their home games.

The BBC, who would be expected to compete with TalkSport for the commentary rights of this match – and for the rest of Liverpool’s Champions League games should they progress past Hoffenheim – were according to their listings on Tuesday lunchtime scheduled to only provide updates from Anfield on Wednesday, with West Ham’s League Cup tie at Cheltenham their focus instead.

Liverpool had an agreement in place with TalkSport two seasons ago when they reached the Europa League final but TalkSport’s subsequent takeover has changed attitudes towards the station on Merseyside.

Last year, after News Corporation struck a £220million deal to buy TalkSport’s previous owner the Wireless Group, Liverpool-supporting presenter Colin Murray resigned from his position, saying “the inevitable future working relationship between TalkSport and the Sun has made my position unsustainable.”

Murray, who had been offered a two-year contract to remain, was applauded for his moral stance.

David Thompson, the former Liverpool midfielder, who worked as a match analyser for the station also quit, saying it would be “hypocritical of me” to continue.