BBC man Tom English causes Celtic fury with tweet about ex-Rangers boss Steven Gerrard
BBC Sport’s Tom English was engaged in some Twitter sparring ahead of the Champions League final after mentioning former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard.
The Gers’ title-winning manager was on the BT Sport panel for the European game featuring his former side Liverpool against Real Madrid.
After praising the former Reds captain’s punditry English caused fury from Celtic fans online presumably due to his obvious history at Ibrox.
English posted ahead of kick-off on his personal Twitter account: “The excellent Stevie Gerrard carrying this BT panel on his back. Might as well put a saddle on him”.
This led to accusations from some that he was a secret Rangers fan who had deliberately sent the message to get a reaction, and that above all he was wrong.
After replying to some messages he posted again on his page: “That innocuous tweet about Gerrard has sparked spontaneous combustion among some touchy Celtic people on here. Take it easy lads”.
Hot water
There are few places more treacherous than Twitter at the best of times, let alone with an opinion about football, and certainly not when it relates to one of the most heated rivalries in the sport.
Punditry itself provokes a special level of ire among most people so it was a complete minefield that English entered on Saturday night (28 May).
Whether he actually does have a preference in the Old Firm is impossible to say without knowing him personally, but as specific figures do for fans all over the world he provokes ire in a proportion of the green and white half of Glasgow.
BT Sport can be quite difficult to watch at times thanks to the idiosyncrasies of those who feature on the coverage, so it was at least a change to see Gerrard involved for the final.
Fans of his current side Aston Villa might not have been too delighted themselves to see their manager drafted in for his love of a rival team.
But fans of every single team in football will be certain that at least one television pundit, or commentator, or referee is biased against them.
By the law of averages they are probably sometimes right, and with the sport as tribal as it is it would be hard to find anyone who is truly neutral.
Professionalism should dictate that allegiances get put aside, but whether they always do is a question that it is probably impossible to reach a consensus on.
In other Rangers news, the club have lost over £1million in just two years on a first-team player as he exits Ibrox.