IN A SPOTY OF BOTHER
BBC bosses in turmoil over cycling champ Froome’s drug controversy and annual TV sports awards show
BBC bosses were locked in crisis talks yesterday over Chris Froome’s involvement in the Sports Personality of the Year awards.
The Tour de France champion, who is facing a 12-month drugs ban, is one of 12 shortlisted contenders for the title.
The cyclist won’t be at the ceremony at Liverpool’s Echo Arena on Sunday because he is attending a training camp in Majorca. But he was expected to do a live video interview.
Producers now have to decide whether the interview will go ahead and, if it does, how the controversy will be referenced.
A source said: “It’s a massive headache.”
The BBC faced a similar crisis two years ago when boxer Tyson Fury was shortlisted despite making sexist and homophobic comments. On that occasion, they tackled the controversy head-on in an interview with Gary Lineker, who managed to extract a half-apology from Fury. But the source added: “It’s very different this time. Whereas Fury’s character was rightly under the spotlight, his sporting prowess was not. Here we have a contender for the title under the shadow of drug use.”
Froome was among the favourites to win this year after he followed his fourth Tour de France win with a Vuelta a Espana title.
But since it emerged that he had excess levels of an asthma medication in his system during the race in Spain in September, his odds to land the SPOTY award plunged from 10-1 to 50-1.
Froome insists he took “the greatest care” not to exceed the permissible dose of Salbumatol.
He tweeted on Wednesday: “I am confident that we will get to the bottom of this.”