Alan Green (broadcaster)
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Alan Green (born 25 June 1952 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a BBC Radio sports broadcaster/commentator. He commentates mainly on football, but also covers golf, rowing and the Olympic Games.[1]
Controversy
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Green was censured by Ofcom in October 2004 after he made a comment deemed in breach of the regulator's Code on Standards live on-air about Manchester United's Cameroonian midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba, implying he (a black player) may be speaking pidgin English with the referee[2][3].
He had previously described Manchester City's Chinese defender Sun Jihai as wearing shirt "Number 17 -- that'll be the Chicken Chow Mein, then" during a live radio broadcast.[4]
He is frequently accused by fans of various English Premier League clubs of having a vendetta against their club and/or supporting a rival team. In his autobiography, Green claims that two teams he has a particular affinity for Rangers F.C. and Linfield, a club based in Belfast. Ian Herbert, however, writing in The Independent, implies that Green supports Liverpool[5].
Famously, he has an ongoing "feud" with Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Manchester United, and the pair have not spoken for years. A number of Manchester United fans base their resentment of Green on Ferguson's feud with him. Green said in an interview[6] that the feud dates back to an incident in which he said on air that he was "learning not to believe the propaganda that comes out of the Manchester United manager's office" after he had been given inaccurate team news by Ferguson before a game. In the same interview Green defends his professional impartiality: "I'm supposed to hate Man United, but listen to my commentary on the 1999 European Cup final in Barcelona and try telling me I hate Man United. It's garbage."
In February 2006, Green was banned from the Reebok Stadium (home of Bolton Wanderers) after accusing the team and its manager Sam Allardyce of playing "ugly" football which he wouldn't pay to watch. Following Allardyce's departure to Newcastle United, the club and replacement manager Sammy Lee had invited Green back, but he remains an unpopular figure in Bolton.[7]
In 2005, Green caused outrage with Everton fans, with an article he wrote for the Irish Examiner entitled Wake up and smell the coffee, David! [8] The article, suggesting the club manager David Moyes should suppress rather than encourage the club's ambitions after an 'overachieving' finish in 4th place in the previous season, was viewed by fans as a thinly veiled attack on the club after being picked up by the Liverpool Echo. Green even received death threats over the article[6].
In January 2007, Green was again in hot water on Merseyside over comments made on Five Live during the Everton v Reading match at Goodison Park. Film star Sylvester Stallone was paraded on the pitch, and Green quipped as to whether Stallone's limousine would still have wheels when he returned to it. This prompted an official complaint to the BBC by Liverpool City Council, outraged at his stereotypical views about the city being a hotbed of car crime. The story was reported by the Liverpool Daily Post and radio news website RadioToday.[9]
Personal Life
Green is a supporter of Linfield F.C. and his father is a season ticket holder at Windsor Park.
Appearances in other media
Green provided the commentary for the PlayStation football games Olympic Soccer, Soccer '97, and most recently, PlayStation 2's Let's Make a Soccer Team (2006) by SEGA.
Personal life
Green married Brenda on 29 March 1980.[10]
References
- ^ BBC - Radio Five Live Presenters - Alan Green
- ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | TV and Radio | Ofcom raps football commentator
- ^ In brief | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited
- ^ sp!ked review of books |
- ^ Liverpool 3 Middlesbrough 2: Torres calls the tune but may be a one-man band - Premier League, Football - The Independent
- ^ a b Alan Green: Football's monster mouth ready to rile for another season - News & Comment, Football - Independent.co.uk
- ^ The Bolton News, daily, Wanderers, Phil Gartside, Kelly, Reebok Stadium, tv, video, Bolton MP
- ^ Irish Examiner - 2005/08/15: Wake up and smell the coffee, David!
- ^ Radio Today with United Radio..: Five Live upsets Liverpool
- ^ Alan Green (presenter). 606 (Radio broadcast). Campbell Davison Media for BBC Radio 5 Live. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
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