Carragher’s career is on a knife-edge
JAMIE CARRAGHER’S career as one of football’s leading TV pundits is hanging by a thread following a spitting incident caught on video that has appalled the nation. Carragher was suspended indefinitely by employers Sky Sports yesterday after the former Liverpool defender was filmed spitting through his car window at a man who had been goading him. The spit hit the man’s 14-year-old daughter, who was in the passenger seat. The man had taunted Carragher
JAMIE CARRAGHER took to the airwaves yesterday as he fought for his professional future after being filmed spitting at a fan — the 14-year-old passenger in a car driven by her father.
The 40-year-old Sky pundit has been suspended by his employer and was absent last night from his usual Monday Night Football slot.
As debate raged as to whether he will ever be able to return, the former Liverpool defender was desperately trying to rescue the seemingly impossible situation.
Here are extracts from the interview Carragher gave to Sarah Hewson on Sky News:
SARAH HEWSON: So Jamie, I’m recoiling watching that. It is disgusting — how do you feel when you see it back?
JAMIE CARRAGHER: Exactly the same. You can’t obviously condone that behaviour no matter what in any way, shape or form. No matter where you are or who you’re representing as I am with Sky Sports now, family and the most important people really who were probably most affected are the family involved and especially the 14-year-old daughter. SH: Why did you do it? JC: A moment of madness, which is difficult to explain. Watching those clips back it feels like an out-of-body thing — just that moment of madness for four or five seconds. No matter what the circumstances for anyone you can’t ever behave like that. That is just unacceptable.
SH: You describe it as a moment of madness but you were a professional footballer for years. You should have been used to banter far worse?
JC: To be honest, that is again when you’re actually thinking to yourself: ‘Why did you react because that is part of being a public figure?’. At times, different things are said but you never react like that. That’s the only time I will react like that. It’s the only time I will react again like that. I have no excuse. It’s devastating for the family involved and also for my family but I brought that on myself. SH: But it doesn’t matter who it was. There’s no excuse for spitting at anybody? JC: Yeah, of course, but what I mean is a young girl feels slightly worse to me. I am in that position because I have a young daughter exactly the same age and if somebody had done that, it’s difficult for me to find the words to how I would react or what I would say to that person if I bumped into them or something because the way that guy sees his daughter is the same way I see my daughter. It is my biggest regret of course — all of it getting involved in that situation — and all I can do right now is apologise as much as I possibly can. I obviously can’t go back and I have done that with the family and, hopefully, they accept that. I would like to do that again if possible. SH: What happens for you now? JC: It remains to be seen. All I will say is that it is Sky’s decision — not my decision.
SH: Do you deserve to keep your job? Do you deserve to be there on Monday Night Football and a face of football?
JC: Again that is not my decision. What I would say is there is no doubt what I have done on Saturday after the game is disgusting. I will apologise for it. I am being vilified and rightly so because if someone in that game
had done that I would have to vilify them for the next few days. But what I would hope — not just for Sky but for the public who have known me for 25 years in the public eye since I started playing — is that five seconds of madness will not sort of take over everything I have done. People may or may not like me even before this incident but, hopefully, going forward I can show the real me as I don’t think it was a real representation of me.
SH: Have you offered your resignation or considered it?
JC: I haven’t offered that — no. I am just speaking to people at Sky and working out a way to go forward for me and Sky. Obviously, you just read the statement and they are very disappointed and understandably so. I have brought shame on the name of Sky Sports — the broadcaster.
SH: I’m a mum of three, Jamie, and if my five-year-old came home and spat I would be absolutely horrified and you’re a grown man.
JC: I would be horrified at my own children. If I had done it at five or six then my own mother and father would be the same. As I said, it was difficult to explain. The moment of madness — four or five seconds where I have lost it basically. I wish I could go back and change it but obviously that’s not the case. All I can do now is obviously speak to you and speak to the family again and apologise as much as I can. SH: What about your own kids — what have they said about it? JC: Disappointed obviously. A little bit upset but... [pauses, looks tearful]
SH: What can you say to people watching who you have let down? What do you say to them?
JC: I apologise because I know that it will put supporters, family and friends in a very difficult position. But the most important people I want to apologise to is the family involved really because they have been dragged into a media storm because of my actions and I’m sure that won’t be nice for them, especially the 14-year-old girl. For me, the people who know me or look up to me, that is for me to sort out. Hopefully, I get the chance again to maybe apologise or meet up with the family face to face and show how sorry I really am. SH: There’s been a lot of reaction. The frustration got the better of you but there are no excuses. Again, do you think you deserve to keep your job?
JC: Well, again, it doesn’t matter if I say yes or no. That is down to the powers above. Listen, hopefully I can show people over these next days or weeks the real me and, as I said before, hopefully the moment of madness will not cloud judgment of what people have of me, whether it is good or bad. Of course this is a bad stain on me and my character, my career if you like. The big thing I am really disappointed with is the daughter. I certainly did not want that to happen or get involved. My frustration and what I did, which was an absolute disgrace, was with the father.
SH: I am still struggling to understand why you were so frustrated — it was just light-hearted banter?
JC: This is the difficult bit for me because I don’t want to give a reason for people to think I am giving an excuse and it happened two or three times but I have had that plenty of times. It is part of being a public figure and I have never reacted like that before as I have had it before. I can’t explain the reason for those four or five seconds why I reacted like that.