Football experts Matt Le Tissier, Phil Thompson and Charlie Nicholas left on Saturday after a reorganisation of the show, a resolution that provoked racist reactions in the audience and ignited the wrath of BBC expert Ian Wright.
The three soccer experts have worked for Sky Sports for nearly 50 years in total, according to SunSport.
Southampton FC legend Le Tissier seemed to make the resolution gracefully. He tweeted: “I enjoyed my time at Sky Sports, time to look forward to the next challenge in life, thanks for the years and a special thanks to the back room team which includes @ CazzaEccles @CarlyBassett @tvtrevstats among many others. , good luck to everyone. Have a great day. “
– Matt Le Tissier () August 26, 2020
The trio is reportedly giving way to a more varied roster of experts, rumors that have been shown through Sky Sports but have sparked a racist backlash.
Wright shot a video passionately protecting black experts like Alex Scott, Micah Richards and Sol Campbell, after “racism [had] exploded today. “
Wright said, “Can I answer what does Micah Richards, Alex Scott, Sol Campbell or Clinton Morrison or any other black expert with Sky’s resolution have to do with getting rid of those guys?. . . Why could a black user get a chance to do this job?Could you have the chance to do this program?»
Le Tissier retwent Wright’s video and said he “totally agreed” with “Wright’s fair point, well. . . racism must be completely ruled out. “
He joked that from a middle-aged guy to “I think he’d done a decent job. “
– Matt Le Tissier () August 26, 2020
Wright added: “These guys, Matt Le Tissier, Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson, they had an incredible career, it’s a wonderful show, it occurs to everyone in the industry. It is Sky’s resolve to evolve the series; I wish them all the best. “. Yeah, you might be disappointed that it’s all over for those guys, but why does it have to be race-motivated? What does this have to do with Black Lives Matter? Or the fact that other black people may have the opportunity to get those jobs? »
Sky told SunSport, “We are transforming parts of our football policy: Matt, Charlie and Phil have done a wonderful task for us over the years, and they will leave us with our sincere thanks and desires. “
Thompson said: “I’ve had 22 glorious years with Sky Sports. I enjoyed every minute with other amazing people on screen and scenes, which made it the iconic screen it is today. Good luck to Sky, Jeff, Merse and the new Saturday football gang. “
Host Jeff Stelling will speak about soccer on Saturday, as will Arsenal icon Paul Merson.
For more information, check out our TV guide.