“Money, so they say, Is the root of all evil today”, the line from the famous Pink Floyd song is ringing a bell among all football fans after the “FA Premier League” took down the Sidemen charity match temporarily possibly because of the involvement of West Ham’s London stadium.
The Sidemen, a popular YouTube group, played their most significant charity football match at the West Ham London Stadium on September 9, 2023. This eagerly awaited charitable event made its debut in 2016 and has since grown into a recurring extravaganza.
However, as people tried watching the recording of the match found out that the Sidemen faced an unexpected copyright strike from the “FA Premier League” resulting in the removal of the video from the group’s channel.
The exact reason for the copyright strike hasn’t been disclosed but two possible theories have circulated.
One theory is that it could be related to the match taking place at London Stadium, which is registered with the Premier League. However, this is just speculation and hasn’t been confirmed. In the past, the group streamed from other stadiums without any issues, which adds to the narrative.
On the other hand, according to information obtained by Daily Star Sport, the content block occurred due to a technical glitch related to YouTube and was not connected to a copyright problem, despite the message indicating otherwise.
One thing that is also perplexing is the fact that what exactly is the “FA Premier League”? It’s important to note that the FA (Football Association) and the Premier League are distinct organizations with separate channels for claiming videos on YouTube.
The Premier League usually takes action under the ‘Premier League Productions’ banner, while the FA uses ‘Football Association’ to claim content. In reality, there is no such thing as the ‘FA Premier League.’
Many Sidemen fans also expressed their frustration when they couldn’t access the video, and this prompted a response from KSI, the YouTube sensation, who tweeted, “Lmao, how is this even possible?!?!
However, much to fans’ delight, the live stream recording was reinstated on YouTube, but the reinstallation was due to the correction of the technical glitch, or due to severe backlash by fans is up for debate.
The charity match managed to raise an incredible £2.4 million for charitable causes. Notably, KSI and Logan Paul’s energy drink brand Prime contributed £250,000 to this remarkable sum.
The stadium was packed to capacity with enthusiastic fans, and some of the standout moments included Sidemen’s friend Manny scoring a hat-trick and the host Elz the Witch making a striking impression with her bold outfit.
Other memorable highlights featured KSI taking on the role of a goalkeeper, a heated confrontation between streamer IShowSpeed and his rival Angry Ginge, and YouTube comedian Max Fosh playing a playful trick on former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg.
