Bradford City have been left feeling snubbed by the country’s biggest T.V. broadcasters this week, as they found out their fifth round cup game will not be shown on television. The F.A. Cup came back with a bang in the fourth round, with several big cup upsets seeing Manchester United and Liverpool both being held to draws as well as Manchester City being knocked out.

However, the biggest shock of the round was created by League One side Bradford City. The West Yorkshire side traveled down to Premier League title favorites Chelsea, with the majority of people not giving this one much thought. The special ones’ side were given plenty to think about though, when Bradford came from 2-0 down to beat Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge.

Many have already argued the game to be one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history, and it can’t be denied that the result certainly brought that special feeling back to the competition that has alluded it for so long. That, coupled with the club’s phenomenal Capital One Cup run in 2013 that saw them reach the final, would surely guarantee them some air time in the next round. Unfortunately for the Bantams fans, their hopes were scattered when they realized that neither BBC or BT Sport would be featuring Bradford City vs. Sunderland or Fulham in the next stage of the F.A. Cup.

Both broadcasters have decided to pay attention to other ties instead, leaving the question in the back of many people’s minds; Were Bradford City snubbed ?

Had Bradford been a Premier League side, the decision may have been different following the result in London, but has the league in which Bradford play harmed their chances of being shown on T.V.? Surely , the magic of the F.A. Cup that has been reborn by the club would have been enough to lure in a broadcaster, the entire country was only talking about one team after the fourth round, and yet that team will not be shown on the nation’s televisions.

The uproar by both fans and the club has been huge, with club chairman Mark Lawn saying ” It feels as if they’ve taken all the magic away from us. Where’s the romance and magic going to be when they just want to show all the big clubs?” Had the club drawn a possible game against Manchester United or Liverpool, perhaps the decision would have been different. One of the game’s current big issues is the sheer gulf in wealth between the top sides and the lower leagues, making it incredibly difficult for teams to compete once they have been promoted to the top flight. These sorts of decisions have huge impacts on clubs of Bradford’s nature, the Yorkshire outfit is set to miss out on around £250,000 from T.V. coverage.

That sum of money will probably mean nothing to a global giant such as Manchester United, but for teams in the lower leagues, that money could have been a massive help. Are these broadcasting giants now only concerned with the big games, and the big teams? Or is it a case of fear that people will not tune in to see League One Bradford?

Perhaps a mixture of the two, we will never truly know the answer. But Bradford City will just have to hope they can progress into the next round and see if then, finally, they will make their way into the nations homes, to join the hearts, of which they have already conquered.