Complaints to TV watchdog over Rio jibes

OFCOM received six complaints about BT Sport’s coverage of the Newcastle v Chelsea match January, making it one of the most complained about matches of the last five years.

The BT Sport broadcast was when Rio Ferdinand gave his thoughts about Mike Ashley’s stewardship of Newcastle United which prompted derision from fans and also six complaints from viewers. The regulator didn’t pursue the complaints.

During a defence of Ashley’s ownership Ferdinand said Newcastle fans should say “thank you” to the Sports Direct tycoon, said United are a “yo-yo club” and also quoted inaccurate figures about the club’s spend.

All six of the complaints were that the programme was “materially misleading.” The regulator didn’t pursue any of the complaints.

The complaints regarding the match against Chelsea were amongst 607 received by Ofcom about programs on BT Sport and Sky Sports channels since 2014.

Over a third of those (207) were made in 2018 - more than twice as many as in any of the last five years – and there have been 31 so far this year.

The most complained about programme of the last five years was the league game between Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday on November 9, 2018.

A total of 72 complaints were made about the show for “generally accepted standards”.

One of those has been resolved but 71 have been referred for investigation.