- Jermaine Jenas has been sacked by the BBC, amid complaints over his conduct
- The ex-Match of the Day pundit said there were ‘two sides to every story’
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Former Premier League footballer, Jermaine Jenas, has been sacked by the BBC this week after complaints were made about his conduct in the workplace.
The former Match of the Day and The One Show host has been taken off air from both programmes and it is understood that his contract has been terminated.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm Jermaine Jenas is no longer part of our presenting line-up.’
On Thursday, Jenas, 41, spoke on the situation during a live radio broadcast on talkSPORT, saying there are ‘two sides to every story’ and that his ‘lawyers would deal with it’.
But he is not the first pundit on the football scene to have fallen from grace. Here, Mail Sport looks at other names from within the sport who have been sacked from broadcasting roles.
Jermaine Jenas has been sacked by the BBC after complaints were made against him over his workplace conduct
The ex-Premier League star has yet to address his sacking – and even appeared laughing while hosting TalkSport Drive’s live show at 4pm today, just minutes after it emerged he had been sacked from the BBC.
1. Richard Keys
For almost 20 years, Keys was at the forefront of Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage.
But in 2011 Keys resigned after allegedly making derogatory comments about female referee Sian Massey-Ellis and other women in the industry. Keys, thinking their microphones had been switched off, said: ‘Somebody better get down there and explain offside to her (Massey).’
He was also criticised for using vulgar language towards Jamie Redknapp in the studio at Stamford Bridge while commentating on a game at Stamford Bridge.
Keys subsequently rang Massey-Ellis before going on to join up with Al Jazeera and beIN Sports where, alongside Andy Gray, the pair now present the broadcaster’s Premier League coverage.
For almost 20 years, Richard Keys was at the forefront of Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage
But in 2011 Keys resigned after allegedly making derogatory comments about female referee Sian Massey-Ellis
2. Andy Gray
Gray, who was Keys’ sidekick at Sky Sports for much of that time, had his contract terminated after he also made sexist and derogatory comments about a female official.
He made comments such as: ‘Why is there a female linesman? Somebody’s f****ed up big.’
A second video of Gray talking to pitch-side reporter Andy Burton also emerged in which the former Everton forward spoke crudely of Massey-Ellis’ appearance.
Gray was sacked on January 25, 2011, but also apologised to the official.
Andy Gray (left), who was Keys’ (right) sidekick at Sky and talkSPORT had his contract terminated by Sky
Gray (left) and Keys (right) had made derogatory comments about a female refereeing official
3. Matt Le Tissier
Le Tissier was sacked by Sky Sports in August, 2020. He claimed the reason for his dismissal was because he ‘challenged the narrative’.
He parted company with the broadcaster alongside Phil Thompson and Charlie Nicholas as part of a huge revamp at the organisation.
Le Tissier had caused a stir when responding to comments around his and Sky’s public support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign.
The former Southampton star has also made the news for delivering several conspiracy theories relating to the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine.
The 55-year-old then took the decision to resign as a club ambassador at Southampton in 2022 but is still often spotted at St Mary’s watching his team.
Matt Le Tissier was sacked by Sky Sports in August, 2020 during a major shakeup at the broadcaster
4. Ron Atkinson
Former ITV football pundit and Guardian columnist, Atkinson, resigned from his role with the broadcaster in 2004 after racist comments which were broadcast around the world during a post-match analysis of a Champions League semi-final.
The comments were made about France international and Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly, following a game against Monaco in April 2004.
The conversation was off-air but had still been picked up by the microphone and so shared on live TV.
Atkinson had been full of remorse and apologised for his comments and subsequently resigned from both ITV and The Guardian.
The 85-year-old is now a pundit on William Hill’s The Punt podcast and on Manchester United’s television channel MUTV. He also released an autobiography entitled ’60 Minutes with Ron Atkinson’ where he reflects on his football career and his comments.
Former ITV football pundit and Guardian columnist, Ron Atkinson, resigned from his role with the broadcaster in 2004
5. Rodney Marsh
After working for Sky Sports for many years including, 11 years on Soccer Saturday, Marsh was sacked in 2005 by the broadcasting company for making offensive comments about the 2004 tsunami in Asia.
The former QPR and Manchester City forward had made the comments during a broadcast of the live phone-in programme ‘You’re On Sky Sports’.
He said: ‘Beckham has turned down a move to Newcastle United because of trouble with the ‘Toon Army in Asia.’
While Marsh later apologized for the inappropriate comment on air, he was let go by Sky.
A Sky Sports spokesperson said: ‘These remarks should never have been made and Sky would like to offer its apologies to those who were offended.’
While Marsh had also said: ‘I apologise unreservedly for any offence I caused by my thoughtless and inappropriate comment I made last night,” he said.
After working for Sky Sports for many years including, 11 years on Soccer Saturday, Rodney Marsh was sacked in 2005 by the broadcasting company
‘My intention was to make a light-hearted football joke.’
Marsh went on to work as a presenter with talkSPORT and co-hosted the station’s daily drivetime show with Paul Breen-Turner. He would subsequently leave in 2006 and has since appeared on reality TV shows including ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’.