- Writing
- BBC News World
Former soccer player and presenter Gary Lineker.
The BBC has apologized after sexual sounds interrupted live television coverage of the FA Cup in English soccer.
Moans were heard during the show as Gary Lineker hosted a replay of the Wolves-Liverpool match on Tuesday.
The former soccer player and presenter then posted a photo of a mobile phone that he said was “stuck to the back of the television set“.
“We apologize to the offended viewers during the live broadcast of football tonight,” the BBC said.
A spokesman for the corporation said they were investigating the incident.
Lineker tried to laugh it off as he hosted the show in a studio at Wolverhampton’s Molineux Stadium alongside pundits Paul Ince and Danny Murphy.
While speaking to his colleague and partner Alan Shearer he said: “I think someone is sending something to someone’s phone.”
“I don’t know if they heard it at home,” he wondered.
As the match began, he shared a mobile phone photo on Twitter and three emojis along with the words: “Well we found this taped to the back of the set.”
“As far as the sabotage goes, it was pretty fun.”
“Too strong”
Speaking later Tuesday, Lineker explained that she initially thought video had been sent to one of the show’s analyst phones. But it was “too loud,” he said, so he realized the incident was a joke.
When asked how loud the sound was in the studio, the announcer said he couldn’t hear what someone was saying in his ear, making it “quite difficult” to carry on with the pre-match introduction.
Still, Lineker said she could see the funny side of what happened, calling it a “good” jokeand questioning why the BBC had issued an apology.
The incident did not go unnoticed by viewers, with clips of the moment widely shared on social media Tuesday night.
The YouTube prankster Daniel Jarvis he claimed he was behind the incident and posted a video on Twitter that appeared to show him at Molineux Stadium.
Jarvis received a suspended sentence last October after being found guilty of aggravated trespassing for an incident in which he collided with England cricketer Jonny Bairstow while trespassing on a pitch at a stadium in south London.
He was given a suspended prison sentence of eight weeks for two years and banned from attending any sporting venue in England and Wales for two years.
