CHARLES SALE SPORTS AGENDA
GABBY Logan, BBC’s pitchside reporter at the World Cup, made a serious blunder in front of the biggest TV audience of the tournament so far.
Logan, wrongly employed by the Beeb in the roving role when she is such a consummate studio sports presenter, was interviewing Jordan Henderson straight after England’s win against Tunisia.
She told him in front of 18.3million viewers: ‘it’s only the third time in England’s history that England have won their opening game in the World Cup.’
Henderson looked surprised, which was no wonder as England now have six victories in opening World Cup games having also triumphed first up in 1950, 1970, 1982, 1998 and 2006.
The poorly-researched error was all the more glaring as the whole focus in the long build-up to the match since the draw in Moscow last December had been whether Gareth Southgate’s side could make a winning start.
The massive armchair audience on BBC for England’s opening game showed what a popular kick-off time 7pm can be on a weekday — allowing kids to stay up and late enough for most people to be back from work.
THE code of conduct introduced by the FA at Euro 2012, which came in pamphlet form, had strict rules regarding England players not wearing headphones or looking at their phones when they went through the media interview area (mixed zone) after matches. These pamphlets must have been binned long ago judging by Marcus Rashford walking through the mixed zone after the win against Tunisia with his headphones on AND looking at his phone. Meanwhile, Phil Jones was facetiming on his mobile when he went through.
FIFA say there was no effort made at the World Cup draw to stop world champions Germany playing in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, despite the sensitivities this would still bring to the Russian city where two million lost their lives in the bloodiest conflict of the Second World War.