John Motson has apologised to Tom Elliott after he described the Millwall striker as “big, black and brave” on the radio.
Veteran commentator Motson contacted Elliott privately to say sorry for the remarks he made before Millwall’s fifth-round FA Cup win against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday.
Elliott has accepted the apology but Motson’s choice of language live on TalkSport sparked a race controversy. The 73-year-old came out of retirement last summer to join TalkSport after 50 years with the BBC. He has been warned by his TalkSport bosses and the station has said it has treated the incident “very seriously”. The broadcast has since been removed from the TalkSport website.
TalkSport said in a statement: “We reviewed a live commentary by John Motson and decided to remove it from replay. TalkSport and all of its broadcasters take such matters very seriously and would never wish to offend.”
Elliott made his comeback against AFC Wimbledon after a month out with a dislocated shoulder and came off the bench as Millwall booked a place in the quarter-finals.
