AN MSP spoke out today after football chiefs announced a £60m television deal that means the Tartan Army will have to pay to watch Scotland's home games.
The agreement – which runs between 2010 and 2014 – is the Scottish Football Association's biggest ever broadcasting windfall.
Sky Sports will have exclusive rights to Scotland's home internationals, while the BBC will be allowed to show highlights
.
But Stuart McMillan, the SNP MSP for the West of Scotland, said it was "astonishing" that the BBC could not find the money to screen Scotland's home games live.
He said: "I understand the SFA look forward to the revenue from these TV deals, however, it is disappointing that neither BBC Scotland nor STV have invested to secure the rights to show Scotland's home games in full on free-to-view television.
"That the BBC will pay £200m for Formula One but cannot secure Scotland games in full for terrestrial television is a disgrace.
"I find it astonishing that they cannot find the money to support Scotland's national team."
Last month the BBC Audience Council for Scotland called for Scotland's international qualifying matches to be added to the list of sporting "crown jewels", events that must be made available to mainstream, free-to-air broadcasters.
First Minister Alex Salmond has previously demanded action from both broadcasters and Westminster to ensure that Scotland's qualifying games for the World Cup in 2010 are shown on terrestrial TV.
The Scottish Broadcasting Commission has stated good arguments have been made for adding Scotland's qualifiers for the World Cup finals and the European Championships to the protected list of events.
Mr McMillan said: "The Scottish public want to see Scotland's World Cup qualifiers on free-to-air television, a view backed up by the work of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission.
"The SNP will continue to lobby Westminster to add Scotland's international qualifiers to the list of sporting crown jewels."
A BBC Scotland spokesman said: "This new contract enhances our coverage, with additional live cup matches and also the highlights of Scottish Cup and international games going on our website for the first time."
He added: "The market for sports rights remains very competitive and BBC Scotland has an obligation to consider the effects on its wider output when bidding to cover live sports events.
"We will continue to bid for live sports rights when the opportunities arise. We're delighted to extend our long partnership with the SFA and improve our offering to football fans."
The full article contains 423 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
