Jamie Carragher will hold talks with Sky Sports on Monday after being caught on video spitting towards a 14-year-old girl following Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester United.
The football pundit apologised on Sunday evening for the incident via Twitter but a spokesperson for Sky reprimanded the former Liverpool defender, calling his actions “unacceptable”.
The incident, footage of which was filmed on a mobile phone and obtained by the Daily Mirror, came after the Saturday lunchtime match at Old Trafford. Carragher is shown embroiled in a tasteless episode while driving, ending with him winding down his window and spitting towards the car from which the exchange was being filmed.
The 14-year-old United supporter was in the passenger seat while her father was driving and talking to the former England defender about the game. When the driver repeatedly mentioned the score, Carragher is heard to say: “All right”, before spitting at the car alongside his. The incident, recorded by the girl’s father, ends with the daughter saying to her dad that Carragher’s spittle had hit her in the face.
In a tweet on Sunday night Carragher wrote: “Totally out of order & Ive apologised personally to all the family this evening. I was goaded 3/4 times along the motorway while being filmed & lost my rag. No excuse apologies.”
However, a spokesperson for the channel said: “It’s unacceptable behaviour and we will be addressing it with Jamie.”
Carragher apologised for a second time on Monday, saying: “I’ll speak to the family again. I’m sorry. I’ll apologise again today properly.” Asked if he had seen the girl in the car, he replied: “I didn’t, to be honest, she was leant back. I wish she wasn’t involved. I hate that she was involved more than anything.”
The incident is undoubtedly an embarrassing episode for Sky Sports and will place pressure on the channel to make an example out of the 40-year-old. Carragher was due to front the Monday Night Football programme as Sky’s cameras travel to Stoke v Manchester City but much will depend on the outcome of Monday’s meetings.
Carragher has been a mainstay of Sky Sports’ football coverage since he retired from the game in 2013, now earning an annual salary thought to be in excess of £1m.
