European Union officials have strongly criticised plans that key soccer matches like World Cup games will move to pay television stations, reversing a tradition of live and free broadcasting.

FIFA said there are plans to limit guaranteed free and live transmission of the 2002 World Cup to only four of the 64 games. The Italy-England match this Saturday will by shown live in Britain only on Sky TV.

"People should have access free of charge," said European Union Commissioner Karel Van Miert in Brussels yesterday.

The 15 EU nations are expected to approve proposals that would guarantee EU citizens the right to watch major sporting events like the Olympics and World Cup live and for free on television.

After next year's World Cup in France, when most games in Europe will still be broadcast in the time-honoured fashion - live and free of charge - the 2002 edition in Japan and South Korea could mark a major change.

Apart from the opening game, semi-finals and final, "there is no guarantee that the other matches will be shown live and for free," according to Sepp Blatter.

Blatter said that "pay television is not pay-per-view," arguing subscription television like Sky have become a full part of the media landscape and should not be excluded.

Meanwhile, the BBC have secured exclusive rights for live coverage of three European finals for the next three years. The deal between UEFA and the European Broadcasting Union covers the 19982000 finals of the UEFA Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and European Super Cup.