Matt Le Tissier has got involved in the controversy surrounding Match of the Day and has slammed Ian Wright.
Saturday’s programme won’t feature any presenters or pundits, while BBC commentators have also stepped down from duty.
This is all after Gary Lineker compared the government to Nazi Germany.
The BBC said they’ve “decided that he will step back from presenting Match of the Day until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media.
“When it comes to leading our football and sports coverage, Gary is second to none. We have never said that Gary should be an opinion free zone, or that he can’t have a view on issues that matter to him, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies.”
It led to both Wright and Alan Shearer showing solidarity with Lineker, before other pundits and commentators followed suit.
While most in the industry are showing support for Lineker and his Match of the Day colleagues, one man who isn’t is Le Tissier.
He appeared on GBN and slammed Wright for how he responded when Le Tissier was moved on from his punditry role at Soccer Saturday.
Le Tissier said: “What’s really interesting about it is, if you go back three years and have a look at the reaction Ian Wright had to the sacking of myself, Phil Thompson and Charlie Nicolas. And you will see that reaction is completely contradictory to the way he reacted to this. So it’s all very well taking this stance but let’s show a bit of consistency in this, Wrighty. You know what I’m talking about. If you’re watching, you know what I’m on about…”
Wow.
So, what is Le Tissier on about?
Well, back in 2020, Le Tissier was dropped from his role as pundit on Soccer Saturday and claimed it was due to Sky Sports wanting to add more black and female presenters.
This led to an angry response from Wright.
“I’ve had to pull the car over – the racism is going through the roof today,” Wright said in the video.
“Can someone answer me this: what does Micah Richards, Alex Scott, Sol Campbell, Clinton Morrison or any other black pundit have to do with Sky’s decision to get rid of these guys?
“All because three middle-aged white guys got the sack … I kiss my teeth.
“What have these guys done? Because a black person or a woman might get the opportunity to do this job on this show? Why are people upset? Alex Scott, for me, is easily one of the best-prepared pundits out there. Easily.
“Micah Richards is the most exciting pundit to hit the scene in years.
“Keep their names out of your stinking unbrushed-teeth mouths.
“These guys – Matt Le Tissier, Charlie Nicholas, Phil Thompson – they’ve had an unbelievable run. It’s been a great show (but) this happens to everybody in the industry,” Wright added.
“This is Sky’s decision to evolve the show, and you know what, I wish them all the best. Yes you can be disappointed that it’s all come to an end for those guys, but they’ve done brilliantly.
“But why does it have to be racially driven? What’s it got to do with Black Lives Matter? Or the fact that black people may get an opportunity to get those jobs?”
