Football pundit Rodney Marsh's sacking for an ill-judged 'joke' makes him the latest in a long list of sinners, writes Mary Hannigan
For those accustomed to football pundit Rodney Marsh's levels of tact and sensitivity on television over the years, his telling of a joke about David Beckham on Monday's edition of You're On Sky Sports, which included a "comical" pun on the word "tsunami", probably didn't come as a tremendous surprise. His sacking from the channel probably did, though.
Marsh, after all, was the man who defended Paul Gascoigne after he beat up his then-wife Sheryl, commenting on Sky Sports that "she may have been exaggerating about the beatings - it's not as if he's murdered somebody".
He also offered his support to then England manager Glenn Hoddle and his decision to include Gascoigne in his squad, but warned that "the next time Gazza does something that really, really is bad then Hoddle has to make another decision". Marsh kept his job.
But he didn't keep his job this week. "We have ended Rodney Marsh's contract," said a Sky Sports spokesman on Tuesday. "The decision was made following a review of his comments on Monday night's You're On Sky Sports. Rodney made comments that were offensive and inexcusable. Sky apologises to those who were offended." Marsh had chosen to repeat a joke, live on air, that had been doing the rounds by e-mail and text message for at least a fortnight. "David Beckham has turned down a move to Newcastle United. Beckham was reported to have said there was no way he could leave Real for Newcastle after what the Toon Army had done to Thailand and surrounding areas." To those fortunate enough not to get it: when Beckham pronounces Toon Army (as Newcastle's supporters are called) it's supposed to sound just like "tsunami".
"Political correctness gone mad," Marsh sympathisers have said, pointing out that the "target" of the joke was Beckham's IQ, and not the victims of the tsunami - therefore it was harmless. Poor David.
Marsh, though, made no excuses for himself. "I apologise unreservedly for any offence I caused by the thoughtless and inappropriate comment I made," he said. "My intention was to make a light-hearted football joke."
So, first Ron, then Rod. Ron Atkinson, that is. "He's what's known in some schools as a f***ing lazy thick n****r," he said of Marcel Desailly's display for Chelsea in the Champions League last season, unaware that his ITV microphone was still on, and with that his media career imploded. He was sacked by ITV and by the Guardian.
Last week, during an after-dinner speech at a Sheffield Wednesday function, Atkinson gave another insight into his thinking on racial matters: "I can't understand why there is such a population problem in China because they have the best contraception going - Chinese women are the ugliest in the world."
Atkinson was simply astounded when he was told that he was in trouble again. "I cannot believe anyone has complained about anything I said," he gasped. "I can't believe this, I just can't believe this. I can't say anything now. I've been ultra-careful about everything."
In short, the football old school is struggling to keep up. In their members' views it's all just innocent dressing room "banter". And, as Ron has insisted ever since he gave his expert opinion on Desailly's performance, some of their best friends are black. Ron even revealed that his "vicar was a black guy".
MARSH'S COLLEAGUE ON Sky Sports, Frank McLintock, found himself in boiling water last year when, in reference to Spurs' difficulties under French manager Jacques Santini, he used the now unusable title of the Agatha Christie novel: "It's like Ten Little N*****s down there," he said. The presenter that day, Jeff Stelling, put his head in his hands. McLintock giggled, but didn't quite understand the fuss.
BBC commentators, too, have got themselves in trouble in recent years. Last October the BBC apologised for a remark made by radio commentator Alan Green, when he used "pidgin" English to imitate Manchester United's Cameroon international Eric Djemba Djemba ("me no cheat"), while John Motson was criticised for saying he found it difficult to tell one black footballer from another during games.
"There are teams where you have got players who, from a distance, look almost identical," he said, "and, of course, with more black players coming in to the game, they would not mind me saying that that can be very confusing." Motson was also in trouble, earning a "rebuke" from the BBC, when he neglected to condemn, during live coverage, the voluble racist abuse being meted out to England's black players during their game away to Slovenia two years ago. When Newsnight did a piece on the match they had to use the BBC's radio commentary, during which former international Terry Butcher, unlike Motson, castigated the home crowd.
On the whole, though, football commentators and pundits are in the ha'penny place when it comes to drawing disbelieving gasps from their audiences (see panel). In 1988 CBS commentator Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder suggested, on air, that the only reason black athletes excelled was because they were bred by slave masters to be strong. "The slave owner would breed this big black with this big black woman so he could have a big black kid - that's where it all started." Soon after, Snyder collected his P45.