Football boss threatened to give ‘a slap’ to woman BBC reporter
WITH his team sitting rockbottom in the Premier League table, it seemed that things couldn’t get much worse for Sunderland boss David Moyes.
But yesterday he found himself in the middle of a storm for threatening to ‘slap’ a female BBC reporter.
And after being forced to issue a grovelling apology, the 53-year-old Scot now faces a telling-off from his dad.
Glasgow-born Moyes was caught on camera threatening BBC Radio 5 Live journalist Vicki Sparks, 29. He told her after an interview on March 18: ‘You were just getting a wee bit naughty at the end there, so just watch yourself. You still might get a slap even though you’re a woman.’
Miss Sparks tried to laugh it off, but Moyes added: ‘Careful next time.’
David Moyes Snr – who also works in football – was not aware of the row when contacted by the Daily Mail, and was stunned to learn of his son’s behaviour.
After watching the video, he said: ‘That’s just not David. It’s totally out of character. He’s just a family man. He’s just a great husband and a great father to both of his children.
‘As a father, I’ll give him advice and tell him to be more careful.’
Moyes Jnr – who has a 22-yearold daughter – said he ‘deeply regrets’ his remarks. He added: ‘It was in the heat of the moment. That’s certainly not the person I am. I’ve accepted the mistake. I spoke to the BBC reporter, who accepted my apology.’
In a Press conference, he denied he was sexist – but repeatedly referred to Miss Sparks as a ‘girl’.
Last night, Moyes faced a furious backlash from domestic abuse charities and senior MPs who called on the Football Association to take action. Shadow sports minister Dr Rosena Allin-Khan said he ‘cannot get away with these sexist threats’.
Clare Phillipson, director of the domestic abuse charity Wearside Women in Need, said: ‘It is for the FA to set a clear standard about what they think is acceptable.
‘This is a woman, in a very small minority of sports journalists, trying to go about her job and being threatened. It’s the sort of thing you expect down the local pub, not from a professional football manager.’ BBC pundit Gary Lineker also waded in, slamming Moyes’s remarks as ‘inexcusable’.
Moyes and wife Pamela have two grown-up children – a son, also called David, who is a football agent, and Lauren, a student at Lancaster University.
One of the Sunderland manager’s former work associates last night insisted the BBC reporter should ‘take it on the chin’.
Christine Mathews, who used to work at the FA as a secretary, said: ‘I’ve always thought that if you’re working in a man’s world, you’ve just got to accept it.
‘People are making a mountain out of a molehill. In all my dealings with David Moyes, I’ve found him an absolute gentleman.’
Miss Sparks declined to comment. The BBC said: ‘Mr Moyes has apologised to our reporter and she has accepted his apology.’