Nairobi News

HashtagSportsWhat's Hot

BBC apologises for ‘Manchester United are rubbish’ howler


The BBC has apologised to fans of Manchester United fans across the globe for an on-air blooper during one of their sports bulletins.

The broadcaster claims it inadvertently aired a ticker that referred to English Premier League (EPL) side Manchester United as “rubbish”.

The unenviable responsibility of conveying apology fell on news anchor Annita McVeigh, who said the “offensive” ticker was unintentionally placed by a trainee employer.

“… a little earlier, some of you may have noticed something pretty unusual on the ticker that runs along the bottom of the screen with news commenting about Manchester United… and I hope that Manchester United fans were not offended by it,” she said on air.

“Let me just explain what was happening behind the scene… someone was training to learn how to use the tickers and to put the text on the ticker, so they were just writing random things, not in earnest… So, apologies if you saw that and you were offended and you are a fan of Manchester United,” she explained further.

Th 2021/1022 EPL concluded on Sunday with Man United’s cross town rivals Manchester City being crowned champions.

Manchester United suffered a 1-0 defeat to away to Crystal Palace in their final match of the season to finish sixth, 35 points adrift of the newly-crowned champions.

Regardless, Manchester United remains one of the most successful and popular clubs in the world. The club boasts of 20 EPL titles, more than any other team. The Red Devils also have three UEFA Champions League titles and 12 FA Cups under their belts.

The team is also home to some of the greatest talents in England, including Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo, Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea, French World Cup-winning midfielder Paul Pogba and English big names Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Harry Maguire.

The club boasts 31 million followers on Twitter and a 75 million strong following on Facebook.

On the other hand, the BBC is one of the leading media houses in the world. Funded by the British government, it is known for its credibility with thousands of employees and bureaus around the world.