Team GB disappointed after television commentary gets players’ names wrong

The Team GB forward Ellen White was referred to as Ellie White in commentary during the game at the Olympics against Canada. Photograph: Asano Ikko/AFP/Getty Images

Team GB’s Kim Little and Rachel Daly have criticised TV commentary in which players have been misnamed, as they prepared to play in Olympic quarter-finals on Friday. The errors came in a broadcast of the women’s football tournament on Eurosport.

During Team GB’s game against Canada their top scorer, Ellen White, was called “Ellie White”, the Arsenal and the Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema was renamed “Abbie Miedema” and said to play in the “Women’s Soccer League” instead of the Women’s Super League and the Scotland midfielder Little was described as having “140 caps for England”.

Daly said: “I think there was a Linda Bronze in there as well. And a Catherine Weir? It’s not difficult to get players’ names right. It’s quite frustrating and disappointing, but it’s just another bit of fuel to add to the fire and we just focus on ourselves and stay grounded.”

Little said: “It is disappointing. That’s a common theme within the women’s game. As it’s professionalised, as the game’s become a professional sport, the things around it need to keep improving too; as well as broadcasting and the media, the level of expertise, when commentating on games too.

“Because the women’s game is not as widely watched yet as the men’s game there’s not as many commentators who know the game as well and are employed to do so. It’s disappointing, but hopefully by voicing it the people that are making the mistakes are made aware of it so that side of the game can continue to improve.”

The commentary in question was not provided by Eurosport directly but supplied by the Olympic Broadcasting Services.

Discovery, of which Eurosport is a subsidiary, said it would have its own commentary team in place for Team GB’s quarter-final against Australia.

The Eurosport coverage has also included commentary for one game being been played over live footage of another, sometimes for up to 40 minutes. That problem has not been exclusive to football. “We have been experiencing some technical challenges and we are working to rectify the situation as a matter of urgency,” Discovery said.