‘Greggs’ got Lawrenson in trouble and MOTD banned ‘wall’ after Diana’s death
Mark Lawrenson has revealed "Greggs" got him in trouble with the BBC while Match of the Day even banned the word "wall" after Princess Diana's death.
The former Liverpool defender has opened up on his television career having retired from punditry at the end of last season, after more than 30 years working for the BBC. During that time, he was a mainstay on both Match of the Day and Football Focus, but has admitted he would often get a telling off from producers.
Speaking to The Times, Lawrenson explained: “You mention the big pie place, Greggs, and then you have to say ‘all other vendors are available.’
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"Who’s bothered? Just because you said the name of one pie supplier. It’s what normal people say, isn’t it?” It was not only the names of brands that Lawrenson and his fellow pundits were banned from saying.
He later explained how he first detected "very early woke" within the industry in the days after Princess Diana's tragic death in August 1997.
Lawrenson co-commentated on a Friday night match at Bradford City just days after her passing and recalled: “The editor of the programme came over on the cans and said, ‘Any free kicks around the penalty area tonight, please don’t mention the wall.’
"I don’t remember who I was commentating with, but I asked him, ‘Is that for real?’ and he said, ‘Oh yeah, that’s for real.’”
Lawrenson was given a touching send-off ahead of last season's FA Cup final as he left his role with the BBC to retire from punditry.
However, he has now claimed he was instead sacked by the BBC and attributes the decision to him "being 65 and a white male".
As a player, Lawrenson is best known for his time with Liverpool, spending seven years at Anfield between 1981 and 1988. During that time he won 12 major trophies, including five league titles and the European Cup.
He also won 39 caps for his adopted nation, the Republic of Ireland, scoring five times from central defence, but never played at a major international tournament.
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