ITV pundit was sacked after minidress-wearing models used his World Cup tickets

Former ITV pundit Robbie Earle lost his job with the broadcaster after his allocated tickets for the World Cup were used by a group of gorgeous models wearing tiny minidresses.

Earle, a former footballer with Port Vale, Wimbledon and Jamaica, had been commentating for ITV since 2002. But he lost his job after a FIFA investigation into the ejection of 36 women from the Netherlands' opening match of the 2010 tournament against Denmark.

The women – discernible by their bright orange get-ups – went to the match as part of an "ambush marketing" stunt. They were wearing the dresses with the intention of promoting Bavaria Beer, a Dutch company.

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It was claimed at the time that Earle's tickets – intended to be used for family and friends – were passed on to a third party, breaching FIFA's rules.

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In 2010, a spokesman for ITV said: "Following claims by Fifa that official 2010 World Cup tickets may have been used for ambush marketing, ITV has reviewed its entire ticket allocation for the tournament. Immediate investigations indicated that a block of ITV tickets would appear to have been used for unauthorised purposes during the Holland v Denmark match.

"Further inquiries have revealed that a substantial number allocated to Robbie Earle for family and friends have been passed to a third party in breach of Fifa rules. As a result, Robbie Earle’s contract with ITV has been terminated with immediate effect."

Earle later hit back at ITV following his departure. He said that the broadcaster gave him 400 of the tickets he applied for and that ITV knew some of them were to be used by a friend.

"I told them that I was giving them to a friend and I even asked if he could pay ITV directly for the tickets he had," Earle explained.

When the tickets arrived, they reportedly came with a warning that they could not be used or passed on to anyone else without the consent of FIFA. However, Earle believed he could give them to his pal as he had told ITV who they were intended for.

Earle continued that his friend had assured him he had no intention of selling the tickets, only to pass them on to the marketing firm.

"He has badly let me down and cost me my job at ITV, where I have been for nine years," he added. Earle is now a popular member of the broadcast team at NBC Sports in the United States, covering Premier League football.

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