Piers Morgan has faced the wrath of a whole host of sports stars including Gary Lineker by telling Olympians that 'only gold medals matter' and they shouldn't celebrate anything less.
At the weekend, the former Good Morning Britain host sparked controversy by declaring that "no-one cared" about the Olympics in Tokyo this year, due the lack of crowds in venues, Covid restrictions etc.
That tweet sparked a backlash from athletes including former Olympic hurdler and Commonwealth champion Andy Turner and BBC sports host Gabby Logan, who told Piers that he "didn't speak for everyone."
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Her colleague Gary Lineker hit back at Piers, writing: "You’re wrong on this one. It’s exhilarating, uplifting and inspiring. Exactly what’s needed in these most depressing of times.
And it was his reply to former England striker turned pundit Gary that has landed Piers in more hot water after he responded: "It's great to see @TeamGB athletes win Gold medals, not least so we can stop pretending Bronze is an achievement worthy of national celebration, but let's be honest - these Olympics are just not the same without fans."
After the tweet quickly sparked a negative reaction, Piers stood strong and tweeted: "Real sporting champions don't celebrate coming 3rd."
In a series of responses to his critics, Piers then posted: "Getting a lot of Silver and Bronze medal-winning Olympians berating me for saying only Gold matters. But no Gold medal-winners. Funny that!"
One of those who took exception to Piers' attitude was heptathlete Kelly Sotherton and Piers had some harsh words for her, saying: "Sorry, Kelly.. I know you’re a serial Bronzer but I only celebrate Gold medals"
Team GB have won a series of gold medals in Tokyo so far.
Monday brought a gold in the swimming pool for defending champion Adam Peaty; in the diving for Tom Daley and Matty Lee and in mountain biking, where youngster Tom Pidcock stood top of the medal rostrum.
And in the early hours on Tuesday, young swimmer Tom Dean added to the golden haul, by winning the 200m men's freestyle in a British record time, edging out team mate Duncan Scott.
