Becker turns air blue live on BBC
BORIS Becker earned a rebuke after swearing live on air during the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage yesterday morning.
The former world number one was told to mind his language by presenter Sue Barker after swearing on air before play had even started on the opening day of the championships.
The blunder happened ten minutes into the broadcast when the former coach, who has won Wimbledon three times, was in conversation with Miss Barker and ninetime winner Martina Navratilova.
Becker, who was declared bankrupt last year, had been talking about his right to diplomatic immunity following his appointment as an attache for the Central African Republic.
When Miss Navratilova suggested that it meant that he no longer needed to wait in line at passport control, Becker jokingly replied: ‘That’s one of the things my friend told me, “You b******, you don’t have to wait in line now”.’
Becker immediately realised his error and held his hands to his mouth in embarrassment while apologising profusely. The sheepish 50-year- old German said: ‘Excuse me, I’m sorry.’
‘It’s okay Boris. We love having you with us,’ said long-time presenter Miss Barker before warning him: ‘Just watch your language from now on!’
The gaffe drew comments on Twitter, with one viewer writing: ‘Boris Becker casually saying “you b******” at 11.36 in the morning on live TV. Brilliant.’
Another added: ‘It’s only taken Boris Becker about a minute to swear live on the BBC.’
The BBC declined to comment on the blunder.
Becker had been invited to talk about the fall- out over his new association with the Central African Republic (CAR), including allegations that his passport from the country is actually a fake.
He was appointed a cultural and sports attache for the CAR in April – and has claimed that this should make him immune from bankruptcy proceedings which are being brought against him by a private bank.
Lawyers for the Wimbledon champion have lodged a claim in the High Court in London saying that Becker should not be bound by legal processes in the courts of any country so long as he remains a recognised diplomatic agent, as defined under the Vienna Convention.
They argued that the player should be made to pay his debts only if the CAR gave its consent to debt collectors.
There was a further twist in the story last month when Becker’s diplomatic passport from the Central African Republic was branded a ‘clumsy fake’ by the nation’s foreign ministry.
It claimed that the serial number on his passport matched a batch of documents that had been stolen in 2014. And the country’s foreign minister, Charles Doubane, added to the mystery, saying: ‘The signature on the passport was not mine.’
However, Mr Doubane was then contradicted by the Central African Republic’s own embassy in Brussels, which insisted that Becker is one of its diplomats and has an office there.