Biggest football TV scandals ever – from Gary Lineker axing to Keys and Gray

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    With Gary Lineker returning to Match of the Day after a brief hiatus – this sporting TV scandal had nothing on some of the biggest blunders in industry history.

    With Richard Keys and Andy Gray sacked by Sky Sports but others getting away with an apology, live football TV is often embroiled in controversy.

    Daily Star Sport has taken a look at seven occasions in which viewers were left dumfounded by the actions of those on-air – including an unidentified baggy.

    READ MORE: Match of the Day was a horror show – all that was missing was Charlie Chaplin

    Gary Lineker steps back

    With Lineker missing one weekend of Match of the Day action, director general Tim Davie even apologised after he was reinstated.

    The England hero was told he would not be presenting the iconic BBC highlights show after he accused the Conservative government of using language akin to “1930s Germany” when describing migrants and asylum seekers arriving on boats and dinghies.

    Davie said three days later: "Everyone recognises this has been a difficult period for staff, contributors, presenters and, most importantly, our audiences. I apologise for this. The potential confusion caused by the grey areas of the BBC’s social media guidance that was introduced in 2020 is recognised."

    Is Gary Lineker the best football presenter in the world? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

    Keys and Gray axe

    Richard Keys and Andy Gray were the faces of Sky Sports from the first broadcast in 1992 – until multiple allegations of sexism came to light in 2011.

    In what was one of the most high profile incidents, Keys and Gray were recorded talking about Premier League assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis.

    Earlier this year, an emotional Gray told Piers Morgan that he nearly killed himself in his garden after his Sky Sports axe that followed the scandal.

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    Rodney Marsh on-air blunder

    Rodney Marsh's tasteless remark led to his Sky Sports sacking back in 2005, after he mocked the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami with a joke about Newcastle's nickname.

    Marsh said: "I apologise unreservedly for any offence I caused by my thoughtless and inappropriate comment I made. My intention was to make a light-hearted football joke."

    In 2006, Marsh left talkSPORT, having previously caused more controversy after making a newsreader laugh uncontrollably while she reported on the death of a British soldier.

    Ron Atkinson's racial remark

    Ron Atkinson was never far from controversy during his broadcast career, saying of Marcel Desailly after a broadcast in 2004: "He [Desailly] is what is known in some schools as a fucking lazy, thick (N-word)."

    Atkinson believed his microphone to be off with the transmission finished, but the comment was broadcast to various countries in the Middle East.

    He later said in his book: "I had taken my mic off and tossed it away. I was annoyed because Chelsea had thrown the game away – then I’ve blown my career with a single word I will always regret."

    Alan Pardew's apology

    Alan Pardew and the BBC apologised after he compared a tackle by Chelsea's Michael Essien to rape while appearing as a pundit on Match of the Day. He began: "He's a strong boy. He knocks him off." Alan Hansen interjected to say, "he mauls him."

    Pardew continued: "He absolutely rapes him."

    A later statement read: "Alan Pardew apologises unconditionally for any offence caused by remarks he made in the Match of the Day 2 programme last night."

    Fantasy Football League shame

    While the Fantasy Football League with David Baddiel and Frank Skinner was a hit with fans, their mocking of Jason Lee has left both feeling ashamed.

    Having won a pineapple on his head while in blackface, Baddiel recently admitted that it was "part of a very bad racist tradition".

    Speaking to The Guardian, Skinner said: "I can’t look back on it now without seeing it as bullying. There was a big response to it. People started to send in loads of pictures of pineapples, and so it ran and ran and ran.

    "Looking back, it was a bullying campaign. And it’s awful. And yeah, I’m ashamed of it."

    Richard Ashcroft's sock

    Richard Ashcroft lashed out at social media reaction after a baggy appeared to slip out of his sock live on Soccer AM in 2018.

    Ashcroft said: "Just a quick message to couple of you trolls on Twitter making a name for yourselves out on me, and also people moralising and virtue-signalling.

    "Number one, cocaine and I have had no relationship for decades. Number two, don’t you ever surmise what has fallen out of my pocket. And don’t bring my children into it."

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    • Premier League
    • BBC
    • Fantasy Football
    • Gary Lineker
    • Piers Morgan
    • ITV
    • Sky

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