Football fans were fuming on Saturday night as TV operators Go and Melita blocked Italian channel Rai for the much-anticipated Euro 2020 knock-out match between Italy and Austria. 

As the game started, a notice went up on the Rai channel stating that service had been temporarily suspended "due to PBS rights" and directing viewers to TVM to watch the game. 

PBS obtained exclusive rights to all Euro 2020 matches, with the 51 games of the tournament broadcast live on TVM and TVM2. 

However, operators had never before Saturday taken the step of preventing access to another channel, with all three of Italy's group stage matches, as well as other games in the tournament, available live on Rai and TVM in recent weeks. 

Across social media, the move was met with dismay by football fans, some of whom expressed a preference for the Italian commentary and studio team over the package offered by PBS. 

"PBS might have rights, but we pay for Rai too," one fan said, echoing a number of similar complaints. 

Some were more forceful. 

Rai service was restored in time for post-match coverage after the hard-fought game, which Italy won 2-1 after extra time to book a place in the tournament quarter-finals.

The same issue has arisen in the past. Back in 2006, Melita blocked access to Italian channels to safeguard their exclusive rights to Champions League football matches, at the time broadcast on their premium sports channels. 

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