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Australian Open 2011: The fire goes out for fearless Francesca Schiavone

Just two days after that record match, the marathon woman almost did it again, but was edged out by Caroline Wozniacki


Francesca Schiavone was once again all-energy, all-effort against Caroline Wozniacki. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images Caroline Wozniacki said Francesca Schiavone was "on fire".
But the fire, inevitably, went out. The Dane won 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and meets China's Li Na in the semi-final of the Australian Open on Thursday. If that match is half as rousing as today's quarter-final, it will be worth watching.
Schiavone is inspirational in many ways. She is funny, innocent, generous and, above all, courageous.
A mere 48 hours after taking part in the longest women's match of the Open era on Sunday, against her friend Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 30-year-old Italian used the entire court, a concept alien to 90% of modern poppets, in another eye-popping struggle.
Her legs burned and her screams of effort filled Rod Laver Arena as she ran down every half-chance, chipping, passing, lobbing, hanging on. It might have made better tactical sense to cut back on the running, to play more conservatively. But she doesn't know how to do that. She hit 41 winners and 46 errors. That's the roll of the dice.
It might be why she has not won more in her career, but it underpins her total tennis. Romantics hoped for the impossible. So did Schiavone, who is far from misty-eyed.
"Francesca's such a fighter," Wozniacki said. "She doesn't give you anything. I knew that going into this match."
At the end, Wozniacki, 10 years Schiavone's junior and riding high, killed the fairytale, and it was only a great encounter because of the loser's commitment.
A blogger from the Andy Gray School of Stereotypes yesterday posted on this site a picture of Schiavone, muscled up, eyes bulging, as she celebrated a win, with the attached query: She?
Anyone who throws such a cheap shot from behind the safety of a nickname on a blog clearly cares little for what sport is all about. Whatever the blogger's insinuation, Schiavone is lean and clean, a monument to hard work. She is everything that is still good about sport.
While she was flying, the marathon woman even looked as if she might get to the semi-finals.
There does not seem to be a low-key moment in any match she plays in. Wozniacki, who had given up just 22 games in relatively serene passage to this stage of the tournament, also flagged, physically and mentally until taking the second set.
Desperation led Schiavone to try for winners that weren't always there in the third, accelerating her demise. She was doomed – brilliantly so.
"So it's hurt," Schiavone said. "But, in the same times, it's good, because I ... don't die tomorrow."
KING CRICKET

Cricket kicked tennis' butt this Australian summer – and Oprah Winfrey's too.
Ratings released yesterday put the first 50-over match between England and Australia on top, with 2.57m viewers; Oprah, who wowed Australia with her regal visit scored 2.4m – and the big Saturday at the tennis, with local heroes Sam Stosur and Bernard Tomic starring, trailed in 21st place with 1.47m viewers.
ALL-PURPOSE EXCUSE OF THE WEEK

Andrea Petkovic, after losing in straight sets to Li Na: "There is the sun on the one end ... a little bit against the wind. It's just a little, little breeze. You almost don't feel it. But when someone is returning as well as Li and as deep as her, I was struggling, as I said, with my footwork. It's more my footwork than anything else. I wasn't ready on the first set. When somebody plays that deep, I was late all the time ..."
And then this giant bird flew over and there was this shadow, right on the T, and, you know, I'm allergic to feathers, and I sneezed so loudly I burst my ear drum, like, and I cried so hard I couldn't see this big hole in the ground, where a kangaroo was waiting to scratch me, and I got tetanus and I died ...
 
Li Na hoping to make great leap forward against Caroline Wozniacki

• Li Na beats Andrea Petkovic to book semi-final spot
• Chinese player faces world No1 Caroline Wozniacki



  • Kevin Mitchell at Melbourne Park
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 25 January 2011 19.07 GMT <li class="history">Article history Li Na is two wins away from becoming the first Chinese player to win a grand slam. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images Li Na is not half a police siren but it might well be the skinniest collection of letters of any major figure in the history of sport. The 28-year-old player from Hubei province in the middle of China is two matches from expanding her profile beyond her fondest dreams in the final of the Australian Open.
    If she can win this title, it will be China's first in a grand slam. Yesterday she moved closer to the prize, beating Germany's Andrea Petkovic in straight sets in 144 minutes. Now she looks to Caroline Wozniacki, the world No1, in the semi-finals on Friday. Wozniacki has issues of her own: she is the world's best player without a major to her name. Vindication here would silence a lot of critics. For much of this week, Wozniacki has embarked on a charm offensive with the media. To some extent, it has worked. She was not brilliantly funny in the press conference she hijacked, and her kangaroo joke backfired spectacularly, but she has a bank of goodwill that will take some time to exhaust.
    If Li, a one-time badminton hopeful whose coaches persuaded her to switch to tennis, is to be remembered for her part in China's development, she will have to get past Wozniacki. Only then will she be on the way to both validating the system that made her and highlighting its misgivings.
    She has got this far in her career with serious financial backing as a junior but she has blossomed since, free of the shackles of her mentors. It is a mutually acceptable stand-off between state and individual. Li abandoned the state sponsorship of her communist country principally to ensure she could choose her own coach &#8211; her husband &#8211; and the venues at which she wanted to compete. She has done that to near perfection.
    Out on her own here in the Melbourne sunshine she beat Petkovic with startling ease. She might be about to fulfil her promise. Hardcore fans have tracked her progress. Others will wonder whence she came. "I was at university, 2002 to 2004," she said. "Those were two years I didn't play tennis because I was thinking about my low ranking, always, like, around 120. But I never have a chance to play big tournaments, always play challenge.
    "So I feel, OK, I should give up. I couldn't find anything positive. I went to university for two years and for two years I wanted to come back to tennis. This is my life. I couldn't do what other people do, as well as people after university looking for some job. But, after two years, I was feeling OK. I'm grown up, I should stand up to try my best."
    She revealed her mother has never seen her play. "If I win, and my [mother] talks, she wins too. Then she can start the video ... I just got a text message from uncle, my mum, brother: 'Everyone says good job.' I say, where is my mum? Oh, she's somewhere else. You need to stay focused. Sometimes that's what's going to happen."
    Wozniacki is an altogether different story. She is richly endorsed, almost guaranteed wealth beyond her dreams and utterly humble. When she skated past the Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone, she might have played her toughest match of the tournament, or maybe even her career.
    She came from a set and 3-1 down to go through in three sets. "It was very difficult. Francesca was playing well. It was tough for me to get the right rhythm. I don't mind playing three-setters in general. I feel in good shape and I can keep playing out there. So I was just trying to stay in the match. She still hadn't won it.
    "When I went to the third set, I was really pumped and ready to go out there and fight until the last ball." She did not need to do that exactly, as Schiavone ran out of legs. She had, after all, taken part in the longest women's game in slams only 48 hours before &#8211; even if she was not complaining.
    Schiavone took her licks with all the equanimity she accept the plaudits of sport's fickle constituency. When asked if she worried about retaining her ranking in women's tennis, she was suitably flippant. "I don't think about the rankings. I just want to try to win every match I'm playing, and then we'll see what happens. If I'm No1, it's fantastic."
    A thorny issue that has been raised against in this tournament is that of coaching from the sidelines. "I like it," Wozniacki said. "I think it's a good thing. It makes it more interesting. I think that the crowd likes it more also that they hear it at home, what we talk about. "
    Li will do well to beat Wozniacki, with or without courtside coaching. But she has wondrous footwork and a hunger for work on the court that is frightening. This might be a match too far for Wozniacki, who looks to be physically fading. And that is no wonder, given she had to stretch herself to the limit against the grand lady of her sport.
 
Managing director can seize chance to overhaul Sky Sports team

&#8226; Barney Francis chose evolution in favour of revolution
&#8226; Presenters were viewed as old hat by younger viewers



  • Owen Gibson
  • The Guardian, Wednesday 26 January 2011 <li class="history">Article history The Sky Sports presenters Andy Gray, left, and Richard Keys. Gray's departure may be seen as more of an opportunity than a risk. Photograph: Fiona Hanson/PA When Barney Francis took over as managing director of Sky Sports in June 2009, he chose evolution over revolution. Replacing Vic Wakeling, the steely Geordie who built Sky Sports into an institution loved by many of its 6m subscribers but reviled by others, he could have announced his arrival by shaking up the on-air team that polarised opinions among viewers and colleagues.
    But he did not and may be regretting that decision now. The comparison with Jonathan Ross at the BBC is an apposite one, for all that the charges levelled at Gray and Keys are completely different. There is a similar feeling within Sky that talent had become too powerful and was calling the shots to an unhealthy degree.
    It was the arrival of James Murdoch that initially presaged a shift in the Sky culture. He wanted the broadcaster, which for so long defined itself as the outsider under the Heathrow flightpath defiantly thumbing a nose at its snooty rivals, to be taken seriously as the industry behemoth it had become. Less nasty bully, more benevolent giant.
    Out went gaudy ad campaigns designed to shift dishes and in came longer-term brand building to emphasise the choice and quality on offer. Out went the focus on moneyed footballers and in came spots that played on Sky's own part in the Premier League's mythology among fans.
    Under Jeremy Darroch, the low-key Northumbrian who replaced Murdoch, that process has accelerated and Darroch and Francis have emphasised Sky's contribution to sport beyond the merely fiscal. The money poured into British Cycling has helped the sport become one of only a handful to increase participation figures, while at the same time launching Team Sky, and programmes such as Sky Sports Living for Sport have been lauded for their impact on the grassroots.
    In many ways the appointment of Francis personified that shift. As the executive producer of Sky's first live Test cricket coverage he was no stranger to controversy. But he chose to concentrate on technical innovation &#8211; launching Sky Sports News in high definition, the launch of 3D &#8211; rather than overhauling a presenting team that to younger viewers has started to feel a bit old hat. Gray's departure may be seen as more of an opportunity than a risk.
 
Rio Ferdinand slams 'prehistoric' Sky pair over lineswoman comments

&#8226; Sports minister joins chorus of criticism
&#8226; Uefa describes football as 'institutionally sexist' old boys' club



  • Owen Gibson and David Conn
  • The Guardian, Tuesday 25 January 2011 <li class="history">Article history Rio Ferdinand praised the assistant referee Sian Massey on Twitter and added: 'Discrimination should not happen in our game at all ... prehistoric views if u think otherwise.' Photograph: Sean Dempsey/PA Sky's main football presenters were yesterday labelled "prehistoric" by the England captain, Rio Ferdinand, for their views of women officials and executives, as Uefa described football as a game run by an "institutionally sexist" old boys' club.
    Richard Keys and Andy Gray were dropped from presenting Bolton Wanderers' match against Chelsea as their employer was forced to condemn their comments about the female assistant referee Sian Massey, who was branded "****ing hopeless", and the West Ham United vice&#8209;chair, Karren Brady.
    The Sky Sports managing director, Barney Francis, said he had spoken to both men personally to tell them their comments were "totally unacceptable" and "inexcusable from anyone at Sky regardless of their role or seniority". The pair will be absent from screens until at least next week and have been warned that any repeat is likely to be a sackable offence.
    The insults levelled at Massey came just days after a meeting of senior European football figures, convened by Uefa and the Football Association, concluded that football is "institutionally sexist" &#8211; run, across the continent, by a self-perpetuating "old boys' club".
    Further humiliating footage emerged of an exchange between Gray and a Sky touchline reporter in which they discussed Massey in disparaging terms before going on air.
    BSkyB has poured millions into partnerships with British Cycling and corporate sports-based social responsibility initiatives in a bid to soften its image and highlight its investment in grassroots sport. There will be concerns that huge investment could be undermined if it was perceived that the attitudes of Gray and Keys are widespread.
    Keys and Gray were recorded before the match at Molineux between Woverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool on Saturday making derogatory remarks, which were not broadcast, about Massey. She has been selected by the Premier League as one of three "level two" officials with the potential to officiate at a higher level.
    Gray said "somebody's ****ed up big" by appointing Massey to run the line. Keys agreed, saying Kenny Dalglish, the Liverpool manager, "will go potty". Referring to the Premier League's first female assistant referee, Gray said: "Wendy Toms, she was ****ing hopeless as well."
    Francis added: "We have dealt with this matter by taking immediate disciplinary action. As with any employee it would not be right to go into detail on those proceedings. However, they have been clearly warned about their behaviour and reminded of their responsibilities."A spokesman for the Professional Game Match Officials Board said last night that Keys had phoned Massey on Sunday night to offer a personal apology, which she accepted. The 25-year-old will run the line tonight at Crewe Alexandra's game against Bradford City.
    Through Twitter, Ferdinand praised Massey and added: "I'm all for women refereeing in football, discrimination should not happen in our game at all ... prehistoric views if u think otherwise."
    The sports minister, Hugh Robertson, has joined the chorus of criticism. The government is likely to put pressure on the FA to overhaul its governance structures to make it more representative and inclusive in the wake of a parliamentary select committee inquiry, submissions to which are due in this week.
    The Uefa meeting, held in Amsterdam last week to launch an effort to address "institutional discrimination", considered new research which documented the "under-representation" of women in coaching or executive positions, and a finding that "more than 99%" of European football's senior administrators, at clubs and football associations, are middle-aged to elderly white men.
    Referring to the lack of women coaches, executives or club directors, the report, by Dr Steven Bradbury of Loughborough University, concluded there is a "deeply masculine culture, and overt and casual sexism inherent within the men's game".
    The report by Bradbury and his research team, presented to the "institutional discrimination" seminar which included the presidents of five European football associations, three members of Uefa's executive committee and Sue Law, the FA's head of equality and child protection, stated that in football, knowledge and expertise are assumed to belong to "the male expert" and women's abilities are "devalued and invalidated".
    "These stereotypical perceptions which equate women with a lack of suitability and competence have contributed to 'filtering out' women from accessing leadership positions at men's professional football clubs and at the regional, national and European level of football governance," the research concluded.
    Senes Erzik, the Turkish Uefa vice-president and chair of the European governing body's fair play and social responsibility committee, is to table a formal resolution at Uefa's executive committee for sexism and racism in the game to be addressed.
 
Rio Ferdinand slams 'prehistoric' Sky pair over lineswoman comments

• Sports minister joins chorus of criticism
• Uefa describes football as 'institutionally sexist' old boys' club



  • Owen Gibson and David Conn
  • The Guardian, Tuesday 25 January 2011 <li class="history">Article history Rio Ferdinand praised the assistant referee Sian Massey on Twitter and added: 'Discrimination should not happen in our game at all ... prehistoric views if u think otherwise.' Photograph: Sean Dempsey/PA Sky's main football presenters were yesterday labelled "prehistoric" by the England captain, Rio Ferdinand, for their views of women officials and executives, as Uefa described football as a game run by an "institutionally sexist" old boys' club.
    Richard Keys and Andy Gray were dropped from presenting Bolton Wanderers' match against Chelsea as their employer was forced to condemn their comments about the female assistant referee Sian Massey, who was branded "****ing hopeless", and the West Ham United vice&#8209;chair, Karren Brady.
    The Sky Sports managing director, Barney Francis, said he had spoken to both men personally to tell them their comments were "totally unacceptable" and "inexcusable from anyone at Sky regardless of their role or seniority". The pair will be absent from screens until at least next week and have been warned that any repeat is likely to be a sackable offence.
    The insults levelled at Massey came just days after a meeting of senior European football figures, convened by Uefa and the Football Association, concluded that football is "institutionally sexist" – run, across the continent, by a self-perpetuating "old boys' club".
    Further humiliating footage emerged of an exchange between Gray and a Sky touchline reporter in which they discussed Massey in disparaging terms before going on air.
    BSkyB has poured millions into partnerships with British Cycling and corporate sports-based social responsibility initiatives in a bid to soften its image and highlight its investment in grassroots sport. There will be concerns that huge investment could be undermined if it was perceived that the attitudes of Gray and Keys are widespread.
    Keys and Gray were recorded before the match at Molineux between Woverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool on Saturday making derogatory remarks, which were not broadcast, about Massey. She has been selected by the Premier League as one of three "level two" officials with the potential to officiate at a higher level.
    Gray said "somebody's ****ed up big" by appointing Massey to run the line. Keys agreed, saying Kenny Dalglish, the Liverpool manager, "will go potty". Referring to the Premier League's first female assistant referee, Gray said: "Wendy Toms, she was ****ing hopeless as well."
    Francis added: "We have dealt with this matter by taking immediate disciplinary action. As with any employee it would not be right to go into detail on those proceedings. However, they have been clearly warned about their behaviour and reminded of their responsibilities."A spokesman for the Professional Game Match Officials Board said last night that Keys had phoned Massey on Sunday night to offer a personal apology, which she accepted. The 25-year-old will run the line tonight at Crewe Alexandra's game against Bradford City.
    Through Twitter, Ferdinand praised Massey and added: "I'm all for women refereeing in football, discrimination should not happen in our game at all ... prehistoric views if u think otherwise."
    The sports minister, Hugh Robertson, has joined the chorus of criticism. The government is likely to put pressure on the FA to overhaul its governance structures to make it more representative and inclusive in the wake of a parliamentary select committee inquiry, submissions to which are due in this week.
    The Uefa meeting, held in Amsterdam last week to launch an effort to address "institutional discrimination", considered new research which documented the "under-representation" of women in coaching or executive positions, and a finding that "more than 99%" of European football's senior administrators, at clubs and football associations, are middle-aged to elderly white men.
    Referring to the lack of women coaches, executives or club directors, the report, by Dr Steven Bradbury of Loughborough University, concluded there is a "deeply masculine culture, and overt and casual sexism inherent within the men's game".
    The report by Bradbury and his research team, presented to the "institutional discrimination" seminar which included the presidents of five European football associations, three members of Uefa's executive committee and Sue Law, the FA's head of equality and child protection, stated that in football, knowledge and expertise are assumed to belong to "the male expert" and women's abilities are "devalued and invalidated".
    "These stereotypical perceptions which equate women with a lack of suitability and competence have contributed to 'filtering out' women from accessing leadership positions at men's professional football clubs and at the regional, national and European level of football governance," the research concluded.
    Senes Erzik, the Turkish Uefa vice-president and chair of the European governing body's fair play and social responsibility committee, is to table a formal resolution at Uefa's executive committee for sexism and racism in the game to be addressed.
 
Richard Keys and Andy Gray apologise for sexist remarks

&#8226; Sky anchor says sorry in remarkable radio interview
&#8226; Keys on Sian Massey apology: we 'enjoyed some banter'





  • Agencies
  • guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 January 2011 13.56 GMT <li class="history">Article history Richard Keys during his remarkable talkSPORT radio interview on Wednesday. Photograph: talkSPORT The Sky Sports football presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray have both apologised for the sexist remarks about a female official that have already cost Gray his job.
    Keys and Gray were reprimanded by Sky after making disparaging remarks about the assistant referee Sian Massey on Sunday; Gray was sacked yesterday after a video clip emerged, showing him making inappropriate remarks to another Sky presenter, Charlotte Jackson.
    Keys is also under pressure and while he apologised for his remarks, he also claimed that "dark forces" had conspired against him.
    Speaking outside his home, he told ITV News: "I'm sorry you've had to wait so long to hear from me. I'm on my way into London now to start apologising to the people that I need to. For the immediate, I would just like to say how deeply sorry I am for the part that I have played in causing this furore."
    On talkSPORT radio, Keys said: "There's a firestorm raging out there and it has been very difficult to step into the middle of it." He added that the situation was "most, most discomforting" and said that he had made an official apology to Massey, the referee's assistant in the Wolverhampton Wanderers versus Liverpool match, on Sunday afternoon and that the two had "enjoyed some banter" together. He later said that he had told Massey: "On behalf of Andy and myself, we apologise for our behaviour. It was wrong. She and I enjoyed some banter together. We left on very good terms."
    When questioned further about his comments regarding Massey, he said: "Prehistoric banter isn't acceptable in the modern world. I accept that. We failed to change when the world has changed. We wholeheartedly apologise for our behaviour. It was wrong. I deserve to be battered. I can stand up and take a beating. I'm not sorry for me, I'm sorry for Sian Massey. I'd like to reiterate what I said to Sian Massey. I rang on behalf of Andy and myself on Sunday afternoon."
    Keys said the comments made by himself and Gray had been "ironic" and that football was not inherently sexist, but that it was full of people who enjoyed "lads' mag humour". He also defended his comments about Massey's performance that were broadcast during Sky's live coverage of Liverpool's win against Wolves.
    Asked about his remarks about the Birmingham City vice-chairman Karren Brady, he claimed: "I tried to ring Karren twice on Sunday night." He added that Brady had not responded to a text message, offering an apology. "I tried to ring her to apologise and she didn't take my call," he said.
    He said he had found the general reaction to his remarks to have been "extraordinary" and said that he "could not believe the frenzy that has blown up".
    Gray issued a statement through his solicitors in which he said: "I am very sorry that certain comments made by me have caused offence. Such comments were made off-air to work colleagues, and were of course never intended to be broadcast. I was very upset when the comments were brought to my attention, and it was my intention to apologise on Monday night when I was back on air for the Bolton v Chelsea game.
    "Sadly I was unable to do so as I was suspended from the show by Sky Sports and have now been sacked. Football is my life and I am devastated by losing the job that I love. I am equally upset that third parties have been dragged into this issue. I ask that the media respect their privacy so that they can continue in their roles. I have worked for Sky Sports loyally for over 20 years and I do not wish to comment further at this time."
 
Richard Keys and Andy Gray apologise for sexist remarks

• Sky anchor says sorry in remarkable radio interview
• Keys on Sian Massey apology: we 'enjoyed some banter'





  • Agencies
  • guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 January 2011 13.56 GMT <li class="history">Article history Richard Keys during his remarkable talkSPORT radio interview on Wednesday. Photograph: talkSPORT The Sky Sports football presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray have both apologised for the sexist remarks about a female official that have already cost Gray his job.
    Keys and Gray were reprimanded by Sky after making disparaging remarks about the assistant referee Sian Massey on Sunday; Gray was sacked yesterday after a video clip emerged, showing him making inappropriate remarks to another Sky presenter, Charlotte Jackson.
    Keys is also under pressure and while he apologised for his remarks, he also claimed that "dark forces" had conspired against him.
    Speaking outside his home, he told ITV News: "I'm sorry you've had to wait so long to hear from me. I'm on my way into London now to start apologising to the people that I need to. For the immediate, I would just like to say how deeply sorry I am for the part that I have played in causing this furore."
    On talkSPORT radio, Keys said: "There's a firestorm raging out there and it has been very difficult to step into the middle of it." He added that the situation was "most, most discomforting" and said that he had made an official apology to Massey, the referee's assistant in the Wolverhampton Wanderers versus Liverpool match, on Sunday afternoon and that the two had "enjoyed some banter" together. He later said that he had told Massey: "On behalf of Andy and myself, we apologise for our behaviour. It was wrong. She and I enjoyed some banter together. We left on very good terms."
    When questioned further about his comments regarding Massey, he said: "Prehistoric banter isn't acceptable in the modern world. I accept that. We failed to change when the world has changed. We wholeheartedly apologise for our behaviour. It was wrong. I deserve to be battered. I can stand up and take a beating. I'm not sorry for me, I'm sorry for Sian Massey. I'd like to reiterate what I said to Sian Massey. I rang on behalf of Andy and myself on Sunday afternoon."
    Keys said the comments made by himself and Gray had been "ironic" and that football was not inherently sexist, but that it was full of people who enjoyed "lads' mag humour". He also defended his comments about Massey's performance that were broadcast during Sky's live coverage of Liverpool's win against Wolves.
    Asked about his remarks about the Birmingham City vice-chairman Karren Brady, he claimed: "I tried to ring Karren twice on Sunday night." He added that Brady had not responded to a text message, offering an apology. "I tried to ring her to apologise and she didn't take my call," he said.
    He said he had found the general reaction to his remarks to have been "extraordinary" and said that he "could not believe the frenzy that has blown up".
    Gray issued a statement through his solicitors in which he said: "I am very sorry that certain comments made by me have caused offence. Such comments were made off-air to work colleagues, and were of course never intended to be broadcast. I was very upset when the comments were brought to my attention, and it was my intention to apologise on Monday night when I was back on air for the Bolton v Chelsea game.
    "Sadly I was unable to do so as I was suspended from the show by Sky Sports and have now been sacked. Football is my life and I am devastated by losing the job that I love. I am equally upset that third parties have been dragged into this issue. I ask that the media respect their privacy so that they can continue in their roles. I have worked for Sky Sports loyally for over 20 years and I do not wish to comment further at this time."
 
What does it take to get sacked in sports broadcasting?

A rogues' gallery of presenters and pundits and the fate that awaited them after their indiscretions



  • Guardian staff
  • guardian.co.uk, Monday 24 January 2011 13.27 GMT <li class="history">Article history Ron Atkinson paid the price for his off-mic indiscretions during a Champions League game. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images Jimmy 'The Greek' Snyder

    A Las Vegas bookie with an NFL punditry slot on CBS, Snyder broke bread with a TV reporter in a Washington restaurant in 1988, and came unstuck with comments about black athletes: "The black is a better athlete to begin with because he's been bred to be that way. This goes back all the way to the Civil War when the slave owner would breed his big black to his big woman so that he could have a big black kid."
    Sacked
    Ron Franklin

    The veteran ESPN commentator addressed touchline reporter Jeannine Edwards as "sweet baby" in a production meeting on New Years Eve 2010, then responded to her objection by calling her an "asshole".
    Sacked
    Chris Price

    In 2008, the freelance BBC Radio Manchester reporter described Bradford City's defence as "having more holes than a Spanish aircraft". A week earlier, a Spanair jet had crashed, killing 153.
    Not invited back
    Alan Pardew

    Watching footage of Michael Essien tackling Ched Evans while on the Match of the Day 2 sofa in 2009, the then-Southampton manager opined that the Chelsea midfielder had "absolutely raped" his opponent.
    Not invited back
    Ron Atkinson

    The ITV commentator and Guardian columnist accused Marcel Desailly of being a "****ing lazy thick nigger" when supposedly off-mic during Chelsea's 2004 Champions League semi-final defeat in Monaco.
    Sacked and loses newspaper column
    Rodney Marsh

    On a January 2005 edition of You're On Sky Sports, Marsh claimed David Beckham had turned down a move to Newcastle after hearing about trouble with "the Toon Army in Asia". The previous month, over 200,000 people had died after an earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
    Sacked
    Richard Keys

    In 2007, introducing highlights of the Faroe Islands v Scotland Euro 2008 qualifier, the Sky anchor finished his link, then added the following open-mic flourish: "Daft little ground, silly game, **** off."
 
Australian Open 2011: Rafael Nadal plays down hamstring injury

&#8226; World No1 beaten in three sets by David Ferrer
&#8226; Andy Murray up next for Ferrer in semi-final



  • Kevin Mitchell in Melbourne
  • guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 January 2011 14.33 GMT <li class="history">Article history The world No1 Rafael Nadal stretches his left leg in the break between games as he is beaten in three sets by David Ferrer in the Australian Open quarter-finals. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images In the seconds after he had delivered his measured explanation of his defeat by David Ferrer in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open &#8211; a result that made Andy Murray's life considerably more comfortable en route to a possible rematch with Roger Federer &#8211; Rafael Nadal looked down at his fingernails and winced.
    He was in another world. He had batted away some awkward questions diffidently. Now he wondered about that little nail on his finger. Maybe he would chew it away when the cameras had stopped rolling. Life goes on.
    During the course of a difficult evening, his left hamstring had worried him far more than any hang nail. He had limped and shrugged even as the sun was setting over Melbourne. By the time the Australia Day fireworks had exploded over the nearby Yarra River, he was cringing and wincing at a rate of knots. The attempt to hold all four grand slam titles at once was over.
    Bookmakers could not take in the shock as the red-hot favourite was slowly rent asunder by a respectable but unthreatening foe. Murray, watching nearby in his hotel, must have quietly given Ferrer a little cheer here and there. He trails him 2-3 over their careers but the defeats have been on clay, the wins on hard court.
    Ferrer, seeded seventh, beat Nadal 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, in 2hr 33min. It seemed unfair that the world No1 should leave the fray in such a perfunctory manner.
    Still, he would not use his left hamstring as an excuse, even though it was the body part most of the attendant media agreed was the source of his grief from late in the first set. Nadal greeted inquiries about his ailment with: "I would prefer don't talk a lot about the injury."
    This was a cop out, legitimised only by his concern not to undermine the victory of Ferrer. Too noble? If there is a template for a champion to explain a defeat, Nadal set it in dignified splendour.
    For the rest of us, Nadal's loss seemed to take on the cataclysmic proportions of an earthquake. He looked haggard and weak as he stretched across the baseline and made the journey to the net only under duress. His left leg, clearly, was not functioning properly as he struggled to load up on his left-handed forehand, his killer blow.
    Nadal wasn't having it. "I couldn't do more," he said. "Tonight I think I played against a great player."
    He didn't. He lost to a clay court specialist whose only grand slam semi-final before this was on the hard court of New York. In 14 matches against Nadal, Ferrer had won three times. To regard this as anything less than an upset is to buy into Nadal's concern for his friend.
    Nadal would not be budged. But he did say: "I don't have to tell you about what I felt on the court because I tried my best all the time. But is obvious that I didn't feel at my best. I had a problem during the match, in the very beginning. After that, the match was almost over."
    Ferrer was hardly more forthcoming. "It was not easy," he said. "Maybe Rafa he has a physical problem. I'm very happy with my game. I want to enjoy this moment, because it is not easy."
    On a night of platitudes, Ferrer did not disappoint.
    "I know about Andy. It will be a difficult match because Andy is a top player. But I am confident. I will try to do my best. I need to play consistently, focused all the match, because Andy's a top player. He's very different to Rafa. I need to receive very well because Andy's got a very good first serve."
    Ferrer reckoned he was playing the best tennis of his career since 2007. "But this is a very good moment in my life."
    Indeed it was. It is Murray's job to dissect the win for what it is: devalued, perhaps, by Nadal's limp, enhanced, though, by Ferrer's bustling energy. He is not a walkover opponent. He will be buoyed by the biggest win of his career at this level and will view the final on Sunday every bit as enthusiastically as Murray.
    Murray's four-set win over the robust young buck from the Ukraine, Alexandr Dolgopolov, earlier in the day was a much tougher engagement.
    While Nadal refuses to use injury as an excuse, it clearly was the case. Murray's match was fought on level terms. Now the Scot must test himself against an opponent who was also dismissed as merely an inconvenient opponent.
 
Australian Open 2011: Rafael Nadal plays down hamstring injury

• World No1 beaten in three sets by David Ferrer
• Andy Murray up next for Ferrer in semi-final



  • Kevin Mitchell in Melbourne
  • guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 January 2011 14.33 GMT <li class="history">Article history The world No1 Rafael Nadal stretches his left leg in the break between games as he is beaten in three sets by David Ferrer in the Australian Open quarter-finals. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images In the seconds after he had delivered his measured explanation of his defeat by David Ferrer in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open – a result that made Andy Murray's life considerably more comfortable en route to a possible rematch with Roger Federer – Rafael Nadal looked down at his fingernails and winced.
    He was in another world. He had batted away some awkward questions diffidently. Now he wondered about that little nail on his finger. Maybe he would chew it away when the cameras had stopped rolling. Life goes on.
    During the course of a difficult evening, his left hamstring had worried him far more than any hang nail. He had limped and shrugged even as the sun was setting over Melbourne. By the time the Australia Day fireworks had exploded over the nearby Yarra River, he was cringing and wincing at a rate of knots. The attempt to hold all four grand slam titles at once was over.
    Bookmakers could not take in the shock as the red-hot favourite was slowly rent asunder by a respectable but unthreatening foe. Murray, watching nearby in his hotel, must have quietly given Ferrer a little cheer here and there. He trails him 2-3 over their careers but the defeats have been on clay, the wins on hard court.
    Ferrer, seeded seventh, beat Nadal 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, in 2hr 33min. It seemed unfair that the world No1 should leave the fray in such a perfunctory manner.
    Still, he would not use his left hamstring as an excuse, even though it was the body part most of the attendant media agreed was the source of his grief from late in the first set. Nadal greeted inquiries about his ailment with: "I would prefer don't talk a lot about the injury."
    This was a cop out, legitimised only by his concern not to undermine the victory of Ferrer. Too noble? If there is a template for a champion to explain a defeat, Nadal set it in dignified splendour.
    For the rest of us, Nadal's loss seemed to take on the cataclysmic proportions of an earthquake. He looked haggard and weak as he stretched across the baseline and made the journey to the net only under duress. His left leg, clearly, was not functioning properly as he struggled to load up on his left-handed forehand, his killer blow.
    Nadal wasn't having it. "I couldn't do more," he said. "Tonight I think I played against a great player."
    He didn't. He lost to a clay court specialist whose only grand slam semi-final before this was on the hard court of New York. In 14 matches against Nadal, Ferrer had won three times. To regard this as anything less than an upset is to buy into Nadal's concern for his friend.
    Nadal would not be budged. But he did say: "I don't have to tell you about what I felt on the court because I tried my best all the time. But is obvious that I didn't feel at my best. I had a problem during the match, in the very beginning. After that, the match was almost over."
    Ferrer was hardly more forthcoming. "It was not easy," he said. "Maybe Rafa he has a physical problem. I'm very happy with my game. I want to enjoy this moment, because it is not easy."
    On a night of platitudes, Ferrer did not disappoint.
    "I know about Andy. It will be a difficult match because Andy is a top player. But I am confident. I will try to do my best. I need to play consistently, focused all the match, because Andy's a top player. He's very different to Rafa. I need to receive very well because Andy's got a very good first serve."
    Ferrer reckoned he was playing the best tennis of his career since 2007. "But this is a very good moment in my life."
    Indeed it was. It is Murray's job to dissect the win for what it is: devalued, perhaps, by Nadal's limp, enhanced, though, by Ferrer's bustling energy. He is not a walkover opponent. He will be buoyed by the biggest win of his career at this level and will view the final on Sunday every bit as enthusiastically as Murray.
    Murray's four-set win over the robust young buck from the Ukraine, Alexandr Dolgopolov, earlier in the day was a much tougher engagement.
    While Nadal refuses to use injury as an excuse, it clearly was the case. Murray's match was fought on level terms. Now the Scot must test himself against an opponent who was also dismissed as merely an inconvenient opponent.
 
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